What is jetlag and how to deal with it

Jetlag reasons

Jetlag is a series of symptoms that appear when your body's natural clock is knocked off.

The biological clock is determined by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a group of cells in the hypothalamus. These cells act differently at different times of the day, and thanks to them, we know when it is time to sleep or wake up. They also determine our blood pressure, mood, and appetite.

One of the strongest stimuli that sets the body's rhythms is light, so that our clocks obey the position of the sun.

Dr. Smith L. Johnston, head of the NASA research team, believes that when a person changes one time zone, it takes about a day for the body to get used to the new conditions.

This explains why the unpleasant jet lag symptoms last for several days. After all, if you crossed several time zones at once, the body needs more time to adapt.

Relatively recently, one more reason was found for long-term adaptation to new conditions. Researcher Stuart Pearson and his collaborators conducted experiments on mice: they placed rodents in artificially created conditions for changing time zones and observed the activation of genes in brain cells.

In the course of this study, the SIK1 protein was discovered, on which the duration of adaptation depends. In response to the level of illumination, the body activates "circadian" genes, and the SIK1 protein suppresses them, stopping the adjustment of the body's rhythms to the new time zone.

When this protein was not activated, the mice quickly became accustomed to the new time zone. Perhaps SIK1 is necessary for us to stabilize the internal rhythms and not knock them down by moonlight and artificial lighting. In any case, it is because of him that our body takes so long to get used to the new time zone.

How jetlag affects us

Now we know why it arises, but how does it affect us? Is he really that terrible and should we fight him?

If you are asking this question, then you have never suffered from a serious jet lag. In general, its symptoms include fatigue, confusion and lack of awareness. Imagine that these symptoms last for several days and you have to struggle with mental and emotional adjustments to your new environment.

Jetlag also slows down the growth of neurons in the brain, reduces learning and memory impairments, and also causes general stress. It seems that there are enough reasons to fight this phenomenon and try to adapt to new conditions as quickly as possible.

How to deal with jetlag

If you don't want to go through the symptoms of jet lag, there is only one way to avoid it - to adjust quickly. Here are some methods to help you do this.

Adjust the schedule before departure

A few days before departure, adjust your schedule to coincide with your arrival point. For example, if the night falls 2 hours earlier where you are going, try to go to bed 1, 5–2 hours earlier at home. This will make it much easier for you to adjust when you arrive.

Helen Burgess, director of the Biological Rhythm Research Laboratory at Medical University, tried to change her schedule before traveling from Chicago to Egypt. For several days before leaving, she went to bed and woke up an hour earlier than usual, took low doses of melatonin in the evenings, and tried to be in bright light in the morning. As a result, upon arrival in Egypt, she adapted much easier and faster.

Track light levels

Dr. Smith L. Johnston argues that light control is the best thing to do to prevent jet lag.

It is important to choose the right illumination at different times of the day, for example, if you are traveling to the east, you need to be more in the light in the morning and try to avoid light in the evenings, if to the west - vice versa.

If you think that controlling the light will be too difficult, you can download a special one developed at the University of Michigan to help travelers.

The calculations are based on mathematical methods, and the app recommends light levels at different times of the day to help you adapt faster.

Take melatonin

You can check with your doctor first, although small doses of melatonin are not harmful to your health. This is a natural hormone that is produced in the body to regulate circadian rhythms and promote sleep.

Studies have shown that just 5 g of the hormone in the evenings helps to adapt much faster to the new time zone.

Take small doses before going to bed every night and your internal clock will adjust faster. If you are traveling west, it is best to take melatonin in the second half of the night.

Stay on home time

If your trip is short enough, no more than three days, it is better not to adapt to another time at all and continue to live as you are used to at home.

Three days is too short a time to worry about local time, because once you get past the jet lag, you have to get used to it again - now to home time. So it's better to continue living as you are used to in your time zone.

Hopefully these tips will help you deal with sleepiness, loss of appetite, and other annoying symptoms faster.