Health Articles

What Time is it?

by Stephanie Biery, AWC Berlin

I love to travel. I also love a good night’s rest. How do you combine these two experiences? According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), jet lag occurs when our biological clock is disrupted. The NSF believes our bodies work on circadian rhythms, our internal 24-hour clock. Our sleep-wake cycles typically align with the dark-light cycles where we live. These rhythms adjust slowly when we travel to new time zones and are influenced by fatigue and our exposure to sunlight. Other factors that impact our ability to sleep include noise, stress, sleep surface, climate, altitude, age and gender. The Sleep Health Foundation (SHF) also believes that the fatigue of preparing for a trip and the travel itself contribute to jet lag. Yes, it does appear that jet lag and interrupted sleep patterns are almost unavoidable!

The NSF and the SHF suggest the following coping techniques to minimize jet lag. These are tips for trips longer than four days. Some are easier to incorporate into your travel plans than others. If you are on a short trip, staying on a sleep-wake schedule close to your current time zone is suggested.

• Select a flight with an early evening arrival and stay up until 10 pm local time.
• Immediately change your watch or phone to the new time zone when you board the plane.
• Anticipate the time change and start adjusting your sleep patterns before you travel.
• If you must nap when you arrive, limit your naptime. One article suggested no more than 30 minutes and several others suggested one hour with a maximum nap time of two hours.
• Get out into the sunlight when you arrive at your destination and be active.
• Upon arrival, avoid a heavy meal, caffeine or alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.
• Avoid heavy exercise close to bedtime.

When traveling, it is very common to have restless sleep the first night in a new location. The NSF found that it takes approximately one week to adjust from a city environment with sounds to a quiet environment in the country. You can reduce this impact by creating white noise in your room with a fan, radio, cell phone app or the air conditioner. Ear plugs and/or a mask can also make sleeping in a new environment easier. The temperature and comfort of your sleeping quarters also impact a restful night. Keeping your room at temperatures above 54 °F/12 °C and below 75 °F/23 °C will create an optimal sleeping environment. The NSF has also found that people sleep more restfully when horizontal and not cramped for space. That seat you were in on the airplane is contributing to your fatigue. Another factor that will impact your jet lag is altitude. The higher the altitude, the greater the sleep disruption.

Jet lag also impacts women and men differently. The Surrey Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, in England, found that shifted sleep-wake cycles affect women’s brain function more strongly than men's. Therefore, when you are traveling with your male partner, you have a valid reason to send him out in the morning for your coffee! There is a bit of good news about jet lag and aging. Though I found few confirmed studies, the online resource UpToDate suggests that as we age, the symptoms of jet jag diminish.

Happy traveling and sweet dreams.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/jet-lag-and-sleep

https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/news/sleep-blog/nine-expert-tips-to-beat-jetlag.html

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/mediacentre/press/2018/shifted-sleep-wake-cycles-affect-women-more-men-new-study-finds

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