Jet lag- why it happens and how to treat it
Medically Reviewed by Dr Aifric Boylan
Last updated on 19.06.2023
What is Jet Lag?
- Jet lag occurs when you cross time-zones during long-haul travel
- It happens because your body’s natural rhythm of sleep and waking is disturbed.
- Not everybody gets jet lag.
What are the symptoms of Jet Lag?
Symptoms of jet lag include:
- Wakefulness at night.
- Daytime tiredness.
- Impaired concentration.
- Irritability/mood disturbance.
Why does Jet lag happen?
- How the body regulates its 24-hour rhythm isn’t fully understood.
- There’s a tiny gland in the middle of your brain called the “Pineal gland”, which intermittently secretes a hormone called “Melatonin” in response to whether you’re in darkness or in the light.
- It takes a few days for your pineal gland to adjust to a new light/dark cycle.
What makes Jet lag worse?
- The more time-zones you cross, the worse the jet lag.
- Travelling towards the east (eg. Europe to Australia) tends to cause more severe symptoms than travelling towards the west (eg. Australia to Europe). (1)
- The discomfort of a long flight and the dryness of the cabin air may make you feel even worse.
How long does Jet lag last?
Jet lag resolves as your body adjusts to the 24-hour rhythm of its new environment. This may take a few days.
Is it possible to die of Jet lag?
No. Not directly.
What is the best treatment for Jet lag?
There’s no treatment known to completely alleviate the symptoms. However, there are measures that have shown to help:
- Behavioural measures.
- Set your watch to the time at your destination. Whilst travelling, try to stay awake during the destination’s daytime & sleep during the destination’s night.
- Upon arrival, rigidly avoid sleeping in the daytime & try to stay in bed at night.
- These measures will accelerate your pineal gland’s adjustment.
- Caffeine is not known to help.
- If you’re only staying for a couple of days at your destination, consider keeping your body clock tuned to home (ie. sleeping in the daytime and waking at night).
- Drug measures:
- If you take Melatonin before bed it accelerates your adjustment to the new time zone.
- Melatonin should be taken before bed each day for a total of 1 to 5 days.
- The safety and side-effects of Melatonin have not been fully proven, though it’s generally thought to be safe for short-term use. (2)
- You should always check that melatonin doesn’t interact with any other medications you are taking.
- If you take a night sedative (eg. Valium) before bed it can help with sleep (though it has not been shown to help with adjustment to your new time zone).
- If you are taking a night sedative, you should avoid alcohol.
- If you take Melatonin before bed it accelerates your adjustment to the new time zone.
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