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Jet lag harsh on health

Plane crew and passengers who frequently fly between several time zones face a number of health problems due to jet lag.

Jet lag harsh on health

Plane crew and passengers who frequently fly between several time zones face a number of health problems like disruptions in women's menstrual cycle and short-term psychiatric disturbances.

The number of travellers undertaking long-distance flights has continued to increase. Such flights are associated with travel fatigue and jet lag. Researchers from the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University analysed the symptoms of jet lag, along with their similarities, differences and causes.

They found that flight crews who take long journeys regularly are affected by poor and interrupted sleep, mood changes, irritability, stomach problems, and decreased brain power due to jet lag. Jet lag from crossing several time zones also causes a dip in an athlete's performance.

Jet lag is worse for older travellers, and its severity increases with the number of time zones crossed. If the journey crosses fewer than about three time zones, then jet lag is unlikely to be a major difficulty for most people. The direction of travel also matters, with flights to the east bringing more jet lag than flights to the west. Jet lag caused by eastbound flights lasts for several days roughly equal to two-thirds of the number of time zones crossed, and about half the number of time zones crossed for westward flights.

Currently, there is no cure for jet lag; frequent long-haul travellers can do certain things in order to lessen the impact of jet lag upon arrival. For journeys that cross more than three time zones, travellers can help the body clock adjust by deliberately seeking or avoiding sunlight at the new destination. Trying to maintain alertness during the day at the new destination by exercising and/or drinking caffeinated beverages may also help. The jury is still out on the value of taking the hormone melatonin to curb jet lag. Melatonin is secreted during sleep and has been implicated in jet lag, but researchers don't advise using melatonin until more research is conducted.

What's needed, is a more detailed understanding of the molecular changes associated with time zone changes, with a view to developing drugs to promote clock adjustment and further assessments of new sleep-promoting and alertness-promoting drugs.
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