Symptoms Of Jet Lag

The symptoms of jet lag are popularly known as an altered state as a result of a long plane trip. The truth is that this name is true, the word comes from the English jet (jet) and lag (delay), referring to a sudden (jet) mismatch (delay).

In short, the word refers to jet lag that occurs quickly, when traveling by plane, changing zone and time in a very short time. This alteration mainly affects the biological rhythm that controls sleep, better known as the circadian clock.

Jet lag and body disorders

Breaking the routines of our body usually has negative consequences. Thus, if our body is used to resting at night and activating during the day, a change in sleep schedule will break homeostasis. Our body will tend to reorganize itself, without first manifesting various symptoms. In addition, there are several alterations produced by a sudden change of environment on a trip:

• Schedule changes.  When lengths are crossed.
• Weather conditions.  When latitudes are crossed.
• Changes of season.  For example, when crossing the Equator.

Circadian system disorder

Living beings coordinate our needs and interaction with the environment through a biological rhythm (generally 24 hours). Underlying this process is the circadian clock, an anatomically based system in the hypothalamus, more precisely in the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

It is in charge of regulating the biological rhythm of sleep, influenced by external synchronizing agents such as temperature or light, the main modulating agent due to melatonin synthesized by the pineal gland.

How does jet lag affect us?

This phenomenon affects both those who usually take flights and those who usually work in said means of transport. Thus, the symptoms of jet lag can manifest themselves in two ways :

• Shift work. In reference to those who usually work on airplanes or those who must take flights on a regular basis. The crew often have to stay operational for long hours, without a fixed work day. These conditions produce an effect that the body does not get used to a sleep cycle.
• Time changed. This phenomenon occurs in most of the people who take some flight in their life. It refers to the time change produced by the rapid passage between different time zones.

It is essential to clarify that the symptoms of jet lag do not configure a disease in itself, but a set of alterations with organic and psychological manifestations.

Determinants of jet lag

There are physical (climatic phenomena) and biological determinants. In summary, we can highlight three fundamental factors of incidence:

• Environmental schedule system. It refers to the temporal variation between day and night. When flying east, the days tend to get shorter and you need to move the clock forward. Conversely, when you fly west, the days get longer and you need to turn the clock back.
• Cruising speed.  Trips that do not cause time changes greater than 90 minutes are usually considered normal since the body adapts during the trip. Now, when the trip is by plane, these barriers are usually broken, which determines that the circadian cycle adjusts at the wrong time of the environmental schedule.

• Biological time.  It is impossible for the body to adjust immediately to the phase changes discussed above. Thus, adjusting to external modulating agents again often causes excessive fatigue.

The consequences of jet lag

The main consequences of this maladjustment of the body are vegetative and psychological. Thus then, the variations are expressed in drowsiness and an altered waking state. Hunger and possibly bowel movements are also impaired.

These alterations have a direct consequence on the state of mind, sometimes affecting the communicative and relational capacity of the subject.

Cognitive consequences

The external desynchronization, product of the sudden change of phases, has organic consequences and also in behavior and performance. The effects of displacement and the energy expenditure of the body to recover homeostasis, has repercussions at a cognitive level, mainly in the days after the flight.

Subjects tend to perform worse in tasks that require concentration and planning, as well as a general psychomotor decline.

Internal dissociation

The set of unadjusted biological aspects is also transitory, the body adjusts to the new environmental conditions. But this process is not homogeneous, since some cycles tend to adjust before others. For example, the sleep schedule can be adjusted before acclimatization. So then, the magnitude and the ability to get used to it will depend on other factors:

• Age. Determinant in the days after the flight, since the need for certain hours of sleep varies throughout life. For example, in older people, the quality of sleep is usually worse, so it may take longer to regain proper function.
• Flight length. It is not the same to take a 4-hour trip than to cross an entire ocean. The more time and environmental difference, the greater the manifestation of the symptoms will also be.

REM sleep and daydreams

The REM (Rapid Eye Movement) interval process – NREM (No Rapid Eye Movement), is ultradian, as it is cyclically subordinate to the circadian rhythm. The REM stage is where the most detailed daydreams usually occur. For this reason, when the circadian cycle is altered, it is normal that rare and abundant dreams also occur, although this aspect is not entirely proven.

Bottom Line: Is There a Prescription Against Jet Lag Symptoms?

Unfortunately, certain technologies are not yet available to most people who travel. Therefore, what is recommended is :

• Arrive well rested and eaten on the trip.
• Try to sleep on the plane when it comes time.
• Do not overload the first day with many activities.
• Healthy and easily digestible food.

So far, various recipes have been proposed without any of them working properly. The reality is that the only solution to alleviate the symptoms would be to travel at a speed greater than sound, in order to return to the starting point on the same day and avoid the readjustment effect of the body.