Jet Lag

Although it's relatively easy for any of us to travel to distant parts of the world in a matter of hours, it's not always as easy for our bodies to adjust and catch up. Our body clocks can get out of sync with the destination time, leading to disturbed sleep, dizziness, disorientation, irritation, and general malaise. The effects are made worse by alcohol.

Jet lag depends on the number of time zones crossed, rather than the length of the flight, and is especially bad when flying from west to east. Crossing more than four time zones (hours) will usually lead to jetlag. This means that travelers from the US will be affected when traveling to Australasia and Asia, but will normally be unaffected when traveling to Europe. As a general rule, it normally takes one day per time zone (hour) for the body to adjust to its new surroundings. Thus those returning home to New York from London (5 hours time difference) will take 5 days to fully recover, whilst those returning to LA (8 hours time difference) will take an additional 3 days.

Flights

Try to book flights that arrive during the day or evening at your destination, not in the middle of the night, as that will slow down your adjustment to the new time zone. Also try to minimize the number of flight connections you have to make, as the changing cabin pressure exacerbates jet lag.

Avoiding Dehydration

Aircraft cabins tend to rely on recycled air, which inevitably dries both the skin and the nasal and throat membranes. Dehydration can also exacerbate jet lag, so make sure that you drink plenty of water prior to flying, and ensure that you carry a bottle of water with you to sip regularly. Avoid tea, coffee and alcohol, as they will dehydrate you even more, and a hangover will make your jetlag far worse.

Readjusting your Body Clock

In the few days before your flight, try slowly moving towards the time at your destination. For example, if you live in New York and are visiting are visiting Los Angeles, where the time zone is 3 hours behind, start going to bed, and getting up the next morning an hour later each day. Begin living, eating and sleeping in the destination time zone as much as possible aiming to alter your body-clock by at least three hours.

As soon as you board the plane, set your watch to destination time. This willl encourage you to make decisions about eating and sleeping that are in line with the new time zone before you even arrive. Make sure you try to sleep, or at least rest, when it is night at the destination time, and to stay awake if it's daytime. This means on the plane and when you arrive.

When you do arrive, take a walk in the daylight, preferably without sunglasses. This will encourage your body clock to adjust.

However, as it usually takes at least 72 hours to adjust to a new time zone, if you are traveling on a long-haul journey for less than three days, try to remain on your local time.