Jet Lag - Causes, Treatment, Symptoms, Reducing Jet Lag
The millions of people who have experienced jet lag know that there are few things that can ruin a trip like it. Read on for help with causes, treatment, symptoms and ways of reducing jet lag.
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When we travel quickly across time zones, the body's natural clock needs to be reset. This is what causes jet lag, a common disorder once thought to be imaginary, but we now know has a biological basis. Many functions of the body are controlled by time, everything from sleep to the body's temperature, to what chemicals your body produces, such as melatonin.
Symptoms from jetlag can be varied, but often include:
• The feeling of exhaustion combined with sleeplessness.
• Irritability, mood swings, and difficulty with focusing or concentrating.
• Sore, achy, fatigued muscles
• No desire to eat.
• Irregularity and/or constipation.
• Headaches, nausea, and other feelings associated with illness.
There are ways to avoid the onset of jet lag , or to treat it if you already have it.
• Drink a lot of water. Avoid alcohol and coffee, which dehydrate the body. Also, avoid herbs like ginkgo, which can cause restlessness.
• Get plenty of light. Daylight slows the production of melatonin, which could help reset the body's "sleep clock."
• Exercise, especially in the morning. This will help ease your aching, sore muscles and help readjust your natural clock.
• Two hours before you sleep, take a melatonin sleep aid. This will help your body adjust its melatonin production so you can get a good night's sleep. Also, they are much safer and have fewer side effects than many sleep aids on the market.
The more time zones you travel, the worse the severity of the jetlag is going to be. It could take as much as three days to fully recover from jet lag depending on how many time zones you crossed, in which direction you crossed them, and what time of day you traveled.
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