According to American Academy of Sleep Medicine, jet lag is a symptom characterized by either excessive daytime sleepiness or a difficulty to fall asleep after passing across two or more time zones. Although there is no known cure for jet lag, there are ways to mitigate the effects of this disorder. Several natural remedies, such as melatonin or light therapy, may help alleviate its symptoms. There are no known medications for jet lag. However, you can seek professional help if you feel that light therapy is not helping you sleep well. This article will discuss how to deal with jet lag, one of the most common circadian rhythm sleep phase disorders.

Jet Lag Is A Type Of Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder

Circadian rhythm sleep disorder, such as jet lag, disrupt a person's internal body clock. This internal clock is set by the cycle of light and dark, and is crucial for our biological functions. These processes include hormone production and cell regrowth. People who travel across time zones are likely to experience jet lag. The rapid time change throws off the circadian rhythm of our body.

While most cases of jet lag are temporary and disappear when the body catches up to the new time, frequent travelers may suffer from chronic cases of jet lag. This condition affects sleep, wakefulness, and mood, and may interfere with daytime functioning. Symptoms of jet lag are more common when traveling eastward, and are most severe on the first night after arrival. To prevent the symptoms of jet lag, maintain your original sleep-wake schedule while traveling.

It Lasts For Days Or Weeks

If your period is extremely long and lasting days or weeks, you should see your doctor for diagnosis. Delaying diagnosis could worsen an underlying condition. Some signs of a long period include spiked fever, heavy bleeding, large clots of blood, or needing to change your pad or tampon frequently. You may even feel lightheaded or dizzy. Symptoms of a long period include any of the following:

Diarrhea is a bowel problem in which the stools are loose, watery, and mushy, requiring frequent trips to the toilet. Diarrhea usually lasts for a day or two, but if the diarrhea lasts for more than two days, it may indicate a more serious condition. For short-term diarrhea, a bacterial infection or virus may be to blame.

Melatonin And Light Therapy Can Mitigate Its Symptoms

These remedies work in the same way: they can help your body restore its natural circadian rhythm. When traveling across time zones, hormones are released that reset the body's internal clock, and the average amount of time it takes to resynchronize these is about a day. While light therapy is the standard jet lag treatment, melatonin is an alternative. This natural hormone works in the same way as light to aid sleep during non-normal periods of rest.

The timing of light and melatonin exposure is important. The more light you expose yourself to before bedtime, the earlier your body will release melatonin. Alternatively, you can adjust your bedtime to make sure you get the right amount of sleep. To start, take melatonin four to eight hours before bedtime. Once you have achieved the right timing, you can try light therapy for delayed sleep phase disorder, or DSPD.

There Is No Cure For Jet Lag

Although there is no specific cure for jet lag, you can manage its effects with proper planning. This includes managing your light and sleep exposure and adjusting your daily routine, such as eating and exercising. If you don't get back to yourself after a week, contact your healthcare provider. This will help you recover as quickly as possible. For example, if you are flying from San Francisco to Rome, you may need six to nine days to recover. If you are traveling east-west, jet lag can last anywhere from four to five days.

A melatonin supplement is one way to help you cope with jet lag. Melatonin is a natural hormone released by the body at night to signal the brain that it's time to sleep. However, these supplements are not recommended for jet lag because there is no scientific proof that they work. Additionally, they may cause side effects such as dizziness, nausea, and constipation.

How To Get Over Jet Lag

Jet lag occurs when the natural clock of our body, or circadian rhythm, is disrupted by traveling by air to different time zone. To relieve effect of jet lag, you can try to adapt quickly to new time zone in the destination. When you arrive at your destination by flight, try to forget the old time zone as quickly as possible, drink more water, and manage sleep time at your destination place. This may help you to get over this temporary sleep problem easily.