JET LAG

The causes of jet lag are lack of sleep and being out of phase with your biological clock. To prevent jet lag you have to get sufficient sleep and reset your biological clock. Here's how:

1. Start your trip rested, not with a sleep deficit (see Insomnia).

2. Don't drink alcohol for at least 48 hours before and after each period of travel. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but it interferes with normal dreaming and prevents restful sleep.

3. As soon as you arrive at your destination begin to reset your biological clock. Never sleep during daylight hours and get at least 6 to 8 hours sleep every night.

4. If you're sleepy during the day, don't take a nap. Instead drink beverages containing caffeine, but not after 4:00 p.m. They work best if you are stimulant free meaning no other caffeine, nicotine, etc. Bright light, especially sunlight, will also wake you up and reset your clock.

5. Your biological clock can be nudged in the right direction by taking cortisone acetate, 10-25 mg, about 8:00 a.m.

6. Do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise about 4:00 p.m. This can be running, lap swimming, riding an exercise bicycle or taking an aerobics class.

7. If you don't feel sleepy when it's time to go to bed eat a high carbohydrate snack like milk and cookies or juice and pretzels or hot chocolate and cake.

8. Melatonin may be nature's sleeping pill. Take 1 to 3 mg 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime.

9. Sleeping pills may be helpful in enabling you to get adequate rest. Good ones are drugs of the benzodiazepine class of which diazepam (Valium) is the most well known; a dose of 5-10 mg would usually be adequate. Alternatives would be triazolam (Halcion) 0.125-0.25 mg or flurazepam (Dalmane) 15-30 mg or alprazolam (Xanax) 0.25-0.5 mg. A newer drug zolpidem (Ambien) might be the best drug for this purpose. It's very important not to drink alcohol for 24 hours before or after taking this type of drug. If you combine the two you risk marked mental, physical and/or emotional impairment and possible memory loss.

10. Being in a dark room facilitates deep, restful sleep. Unless you can make the room very dark, use sleep shades. Quiet is also important so use ear plugs when necessary.

11. Dehydration makes all of the symptoms of jet lag worse. Make sure you have adequate fluid intake. If your urine isn't very pale in color, drink more!

12. Your body's biological clock is actually set to a cycle longer than 24 hours. This is why it is easier to wake up late than it is to wake up early and easier to stay up late than to fall asleep early. This is why jet lag is less of a problem when going east to west than the reverse.

13. In the case of a trip of a week or more, 6 time zones east, and back, a reasonable schedule would be:

14. For trips of 72 hours or less, a different strategy is useful. Stay on a schedule of "home" time. This means eating, sleeping and working at what would be your usual time back home. Follow all of the previous recommendations and use this type of schedule:

When it's midnight in Tokyo, it's 6:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, so that's your wake-up time. You go to bed at 6:00 p.m. Tokyo time. The challenge is to arrange your activities to match your schedule with the local time. This means having business meetings in the morning which is your afternoon back home.

15. In the United States the drugs discussed require a prescription from a Doctor who would counsel you about possible side effects.

HOMEPAGE