Jet lag

Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants.From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

If you feel tired, cannot concentrate, or cannot sleep after a long plane trip, you may be jet lagged. The reason: The rapid change in time zones temporarily disrupts the internal clock. Read here which tricks you can use to prevent, what you can do against jetlag and whether you really suffer from jetlag at all.

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. F51

Brief overview

Prevention: start to adapt to the new time zone even before the flight
Treatment: Immediately adopt the rhythm of the new time zone, spend a lot of time outdoors at the destination in daylight, give the body time
Symptoms: tiredness, sleep problems, decreased performance / motivation, headache, gastrointestinal problems
Causes: Daylight and darkness control an internal clock via hormones. If it is out of balance, symptoms of jet lag occur

Tips against jet lag

The following tricks will help your body get used to a new time zone more quickly. In this way you can prevent jet lag or at least relieve or shorten the symptoms. But be careful: this only makes sense if you are staying in the new time zone for more than two days. For shorter trips, it is advisable not to allow the body to get used to it in the first place. If possible, stick to your usual sleep-wake cycle. In the case of longer trips, anti-jetlag preparation begins before you even sit on the plane.

"Do without sleeping pills"

Three questions for

Dr. med. Markus Frühwein,
Specialist in General Medicine
1
Do all people who change time zones suffer from jet lag?

Dr. med. Markus Frühwein
In principle, jet lag can affect everyone, although the symptoms vary in severity. The internal clock cannot be adapted to the new rhythm without getting used to. Jet lag is mostly pronounced on flights to the east, with a shortened day and a time difference of more than two hours. The very young or old seem to be more affected by jet lag.
2
What is the best way to combat jet lag?

Dr. med. Markus Frühwein
Jet lag is also related to lack of sleep, which is common when flying. Try to get enough sleep or relax on the plane. Avoid alcohol and coffee as much as possible. It is also good if you take it easy for the first few days after arrival. On long-haul flights to the east, you can try skipping one night in order to go to bed early the next night.
3
Would you recommend sleeping pills?

Dr. med. Markus Frühwein
No - you should avoid sleeping pills if possible. What can help is melatonin in tablet form. You can take the sleep hormone during the first few nights to help you get used to the day-night rhythm at your travel destination.
Dr. med. Markus Frühwein,
Specialist in General Medicine
Dr. med. Markus Frühwein is a specialist in general medicine, tropical medicine, travel medicine and nutritional medicine and owner of the Dr. Frühwein & Partner in Munich.

Start adjusting to the future time zone three days before your flight. If you fly west, you go to bed an hour later and get up an hour later each of those days. When traveling east, it works the other way around: go to bed an hour earlier each day and get up an hour earlier. It also helps if you postpone your meals and your activity-rest cycle at the same time.
Set your watch to the time of your destination as soon as the plane takes off into the air.
Sleeping on the plane? If you are flying east, try to sleep during the trip. If you are traveling west, you should try to stay awake and only sleep when the sun goes down in the destination country.
Immediately adopt the rhythm of the new time zone, so eat at the usual local times, use the daylight for physical and mental activities and go to bed according to the new day-night rhythm.
In addition, it can help to take the first few days in the new location slowly - if possible - and to sleep a lot on the first night after arrival.
Spend as much time outdoors as possible because daylight inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melantonin

Time zones

Jet lag symptoms are usually stronger the more time zones are crossed

Jet lag: treatment

If sleep problems, fatigue, poor performance and the like arise anyway, it is important to wait and see. The jet lag symptoms disappear on their own after a few days - as soon as the internal clock has synchronized with the new local time. This means that no medical treatment is necessary. This is usually faster on flights to the west than on flights to the east. As a rule of thumb, people need an average of one day per time zone they fly through in order to get used to the new local time and to recover from jet lag.

Interestingly, different body functions adapt at different speeds. You get used to the new sleep-wake rhythm more quickly, while the hormonal balance takes a little longer to fully adjust. For example, with cortisol, which ensures that you are fully efficient when you are under high stress.

Jet lag and melantonin

One supposedly effective drug for jet lag is melantonin. The body produces this hormone naturally: darkness promotes its release; if daylight falls on the retina, this inhibits the production of melantonin.

Melantonin tablets could therefore normalize the disturbed day-night rhythm in jet lag. Dangerous here: a wrong time of intake prolongs the symptoms. It is particularly difficult to estimate the correct time of intake for flight personnel. With them, it is often not clear which time zone the internal clock is currently ticking in. Another disadvantage of melantonin tablets: Little is known about possible long-term and side effects and what happens if you take them regularly.

Jet lag: symptoms

Do you think you have jet lag? This is how he expresses himself:

disturbed general condition
Exhaustion
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
increased need for sleep
increased tiredness
Daytime sleepiness
Poor concentration
decreased performance
headache
Loss of appetite
Gastrointestinal problems
subdued mood
decreased motivation

Jetlag: direction of flight

The symptoms of jet lag are usually stronger the more time zones are crossed (a maximum of twelve is possible) and the faster this happens. In principle, they can occur on flights to the west as well as to the east - but they are usually stronger on flights to the east. The reason: If you fly west, the day gets longer, so the time shifts backwards. The body can cope with this more easily than a greatly shortened day, as happens on flights to the east. Studies have shown that an eight to ten hour time difference to the east causes the greatest jet lag.

Jet lag: individual differences

Not all people react equally sensitively to a rapid change in time zones. Jetlag complaints therefore vary greatly from person to person. In general, jet lag seems to be more pronounced in women and the elderly, while men and younger people can usually synchronize with the new time zone more quickly. In addition, evening people and people who often change their daily rhythm adapt to a new time zone more easily than typical morning people and people with fixed sleep-wake rhythms.

Jet lag: causes

An internal clock is ticking in every person. It makes you feel awake or tired or how much you can do. Because it regulates the hormone and electrolyte balance or body temperature. The control center for the internal clock is a certain region of the brain. This is calibrated through the alternation of daylight and darkness. If this internal clock is out of balance, symptoms of jet lag can occur.

Jet lag: description

Jet lag is not a disease, but a temporary disorder that arises from the rapid crossing of time zones (shifts in the day-night rhythm). Due to the rapid time zone change, the internal clock of the traveler and the external time of the environment are temporarily out of sync. At a slower travel speed, for example by car, bus, train or ship, however, the internal clock manages to synchronize with the new time zone - the typical symptoms of jet lag do not occur. Even on short trips, the internal clock is not disrupted. If the time difference is less than 60 to 90 minutes, the body can easily compensate for this.

Two thirds of people experience jet lag when they cross time zones by plane. The rest are spared or have only slight problems.

Jet lag: examinations and diagnosis

Anyone who suffers severely from possible symptoms of jet lag can get advice from their family doctor. The patient's information about their symptoms and recent trips are usually sufficient for the doctor to diagnose jet lag. Possible questions in the anamnesis interview are:

What ailments do you suffer from?
How long have the complaints existed?
Have you recently traveled by plane? If so, where?

Further examinations are generally not necessary in the case of jet lag. However, if the type and severity of the difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep are to be recorded more precisely, a sleep log can be created. The person concerned has to document important sleep parameters every day over a long period of time, for example the time to go to bed and the time to get up in the morning, how long it takes to fall asleep, whether he wakes up at night, etc. The doctor then evaluates the information.