Jet lag is a common sleep disorder suffered by many millions of passengers each day, whether traveling for business or pleasure. In a recent survey of international business travelers, seventy four percent of respondents said they suffer frequently from jet lag. Jet lag affects people of all ages, although its symptoms vary from person to person and tend to be more severe than older. The symptoms of jet lag also tend to be worse in those who already have trouble sleeping before you travel. Jet lag also increases with the number of time zones crossed during your journey.
If the time difference between its point of departure and destination is only two or three hours, then it is likely that little or no experience jet lag. However, once your trip spans more than three time zones, you will begin to experience symptoms of jet lag, which tends to worsen as the number of zones. So what makes the jet lag? Jet lag is caused by a rapid and significant change in time zones results in a difference between local time and the time recorded by the internal clock of your body. Say you leave London at 11 o’clock on a Monday morning flight to Bangkok. The flight lasts twelve hours and reach Bangkok at 11 o’clock in the afternoon, London time.
However, because they have flown through several time zones the local time in Bangkok is five in the morning on Tuesday. By the time you’ve cleared immigration and customs and take a taxi to your hotel, likely to reach half past seven and breakfast is served in the hotel. However, in regard to their internal body clock is still only half past one and your body wants nothing more than to crawl into bed. Your body contains its own internal clock, which takes its time from the environment to respond to such things as temperature, humidity and, most importantly, the normal daily variation from light to dark. These environmental factors cause the clock on own body to function, like the clock on your mantle, in a series of twenty four cycles, often referred to as the body’s circadian rhythms. As much as our lives are controlled by time of day, your body clock is also responsible for many of the functions of your body. In particular, your body clock tells your body when it’s time to sleep off and when it is time to wake up and start the day’s activities. When flying through several time zones and set your body clock off balance with local time at which annoyed all the rhythm of your day, giving rise to such things as trouble sleeping at night, to stay awake during the day and eat when not normally eat. This, in turn, leads to jet lag.