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JET LAG can curb the most exciting holidays. Almost everyone who has traveled through time zones knows what it's like. The experience lies somewhere between eating an oatmeal cooked one day and heal a hangover.
These metaphors about food and drink are not just a coincidence. It turns out that jet lag affects more than just our sleep.
Given what is known about the importance of intestinal bacteria (the microbiome) and their relationship to immune function and well-being, it is clear that any discussion of lag The problems begin with the fact that air travel across time zones disrupts our circadian rhythm – the human internal clock that has evolved over millennia to match the 24-hour light cycle of the earth.
A characteristic of this cycle is that maximum drowsiness coincides with a low point in central body temperature, which is generally unrelated to external temperatures. Body temperature decreases as you sleep and is usually lower two to three hours before waking (which also coincides with your deepest sleep). Low body temperature seems to be a turning point in determining how sleepy or resting you feel, depending on when you wake up.
When you arrive in a new time zone, the temperature of your body does not recognize change and continue instead to dive according to the time of the place you have left.
If you are awake or waking up before swimming, you are much more likely to feel uncomfortable, especially if you are exposed to it's light when the temperature of your body drop.
This is because the signals of light and temperature conflict with each other: the light tells you that you are awake; the temperature signal tells you that you are about to enter the deepest point of your sleep. It is then that you mostly feel the symptoms of jet lag.
Although there is not much high quality study on adjustment to new time zones, experts say that DIY with our exposure to light can help this transition gently synchronize the different signals
The basic idea is to stay in the dark before the core temperature drops in response to your regular sleep schedule, and expose you to light after the bath.
From Washington to Paris, which normally has a dip at 5am, he will experience bathing at 11am in Paris
Ideally, this traveler should avoid light (using glbades black while waiting for a connecting flight or pulling the curtains). a hotel room) until 11 am
This will allow the body to feel rested, aligning the light signals with the temperature signals. When you are looking for light after this point, you put your brain to sleep so that you feel less sleepy just as your body temperature begins to rise. This approach shifts body temperature to a new schedule as quickly as possible.
Conversely, when traveling to the west, exposure to light goes first, followed by a planned change to darkness using sunglbades or blinds . If you are traveling from Paris to Washington, your central temperature could start to drop around 4 am Paris time, or 22 hours on the east coast of the United States. As such, you will want to maximize your exposure to light until then, after which you should look for darkness.
Because your body adjusts over a series of days, it can be difficult to understand complex patterns by yourself. But there are some website calculators that put together a clever plan for adjusting light exposure before and after the finish. Take-up sleep, before or after a flight, is another way of reducing jet lag.
Extrapolating from studies of shift workers with often irregular schedules suggest napping before stealing
Most sleep experts give a little nap a boost, and they are OK with longer naps as long as they do not prevent you from adapting to desired sleep patterns in the new
Studies of traveling athletes and shiftworkers show different effects of the duration of the nap on the mental and physical performance. Some results suggest that naps of no more than 10 minutes help, while others indicate nap benefits as long as an hour and a half.
The same approach applies to jet lag after sleep deprivation, when it is time to compensate
Travelers should try to delay sleep until the night at the new place, then optimize the sleep. darkness and reduce noise exposure to get a good night of catching up.
Also, avoid using caffeine for you by the time difference of day: Although it may help you to feel alert during the day, it can affect the quality of sleep when it is not too late. it is taken within six to eight hours before bedtime at the new place.
bought over the counter in pharmacies, can both induce drowsiness and prolong sleep. Some experts recommend using it to change the time adjustment in advance by taking it three days before taking the plane. Experts say that a reasonable amount seems to be from one to three mg five hours before bedtime.
You can also start treatment after arrival. For travelers traveling to the east, the dose of melatonin is two to five mg before bedtime at the new destination.
For travelers flying to the west, a few studies have revealed that 5 mg of melatonin between 10 pm and noon. then again tonight between 10 and midnight at local time can improve drowsiness and feeling of well-being.
Travelers often use other sleep aids, such as prescription sleeping pills. The quality of the studies is not sufficient to recommend them for the adjustment of jet lag, although they may help those who suffer from insomnia in the middle of the night.
Beyond drowsiness at the wrong time, jet lag affects our internal organs: the pancreas, heart and gastrointestinal tract have their own daily rhythms.
Although these rhythms are regulated in part by a main pacemaker in a tiny region of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the change of weather may affect different organs differently.
The most obvious sign is the "delay of the bowel" – being hungry (or having no appetite) at the wrong time, experiencing constipation or experiencing the need to use the bathroom at unexpected times.
affect the intestinal microbiome (these bacteria that colonize our gut) and make us more susceptible to traveler's diarrhea.
This is partly because disrupting the daily rhythms of our 100 billion intestinal microbes can harm their health.
As for jet lag, there are some things you can do to handle the delay of the bowel
Experts recommend eating as little as possible along the way in order to avoid the possibility indigestion due to unusual eating habits. This can be difficult for souls deprived of sleep: It is well known that eating is often a way to compensate for lack of sleep. (People deprived of sleep tend to gain weight.) For some, eating before leaving can prevent hunger before arriving.
Bowel habits will adjust more quickly if you eat immediately during scheduled meal times. zone
Exercise can also help regulate bowel function, with the added bonus that it can make you feel less sleepy. Whatever you do, drink a lot of water or other fluids: People often dehydrate in flight, which can add to constipation, a well-known feature of intestinal delay
If it persists at Beyond a few days, mild laxatives (such as Miralax or Senna) may be helpful.
A final warning on tips about jet lag and jet lag. Despite the incredible influence of the cycle of darkness and light, we are all slightly different.
Some people are naturally early birds; others are of course late risers. There's even an online quiz on "morning and evening" that tells you if you're a lark or an owl, and the results may explain why jet lag advice might not work for everyone in the world. same way. , our fabrics have multiple clocks with varying effects, and some of our internal parts take longer than others to adapt to changing times.
Given this complex interaction involving our brain, our other organs and the rhythms of light and darkness. It can take several trips through time zones and experimentation with light exposure, sleep patterns, melatonin and diet before determining what works best for you. WP
- The author is a family physician and badociate professor in the School of Medicine at Georgetown University.
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