Preventing Jet Lag

Do you struggle to sleep a full night's sleep after a trip? Do you become constipated or find yourself eating at all hours, because you're never sure when you're really hungry? If so, you are probably suffering from 'jet lag,' that least pleasant and most frustrating effect of travel. A change of even one time zone can throw off your body clock and changing 3 or more time zones can easily wreck the first few days of your vacation and your first week back at work.

Now there is real research and a simple method of altering your internal clock more easily and quickly. Conde Nast Traveler magazine, April 2000, discusses at length the research of Dr. Alfred Lewy, a pioneer in the study of chronobiology (the body's daily patterns). Dr. Lewy is the director of the Sleep and Mood Disorders Laboratory at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Dr. Lewy's research shows a body clock adjustment of 3 hours a day when both melatonin and light are utilized - about 3 times as fast as the adjustment with no treatment. Using either light or melatonin, the adjustment is about 2 hours per day. Dr. Lewy suggests the following:

If you are flying eastbound (example, New York to London) Take 0.5 mg of melatonin at 2 p.m. the day before you travel and the day you travel. The first day at your destination, take the same dose a little earlier, say 1 p.m. home time. After that move the dose up three hours each day. By the third day, you will have synced up. If this sounds too complicated, simply take 0.5 mg of melatonin at the local equivalent of 2 p.m. home time every day. Should that hour coincide with your bedtime, take 1 to 3 mg. instead. Additionally, if your destination is six time zones away or fewer, try to get 30 minutes of bright sunlight when you wake up in the morning. If your destination is more than 6 times zones away, get the light in the middle of the day and avoid it in the early morning the first few days away.

If you are traveling westbound (example: New York to Los Angeles) Take 0.5 mg. of melatonin as soon as you awake on the day before you leave and the day you travel. For a time difference of up to three hours (like the example), continue taking 0.5 mg. of melatonin every morning when you wake up. For a time difference of greater than 3 hours, take 1 to 3 mg. of melatonin at bedtime the first night. Until your body completely adjusts, take an additional 0.5 mg. dose in the morning. If you wake during the night, take an additional 0.5 mg. of melatonin. Additionally, if your destination is 6 time zones away or fewer (as in the example), try to get 30 minutes of bright sunlight late in the day. If your destination is more than 6 time zones away, get light early in the day and in the middle of the day.

NOTE: If you are traveling ten or more time zones east, follow the instructions for westbound travel of more than 6 time zones. Please note that most melatonin tablets are 3 to 5 mg., so you must break up the pills for the smaller dose Dr. Lewy recommends.

For even better results: When traveling eastbound, sleep as much as you can on the plane. Skip the big dinner and the movie, put on your eyemask and earplug, snuggle up with your travel pillow, and let the attendants know you do not wish to be disturbed. When traveling westbound, sleep early and talk a walk around the plane later. Drink lots of water and skip the alcohol during every flight. Eat a high protein meal in the morning and high carbohydrates meal in the evening the day you fly and the day after. If you must take a sleeping pill, because you have a meeting on your first day for which you must be alert, take a fast acting, short term one. Discuss this and all medications with your doctor.