How common is jet lag? Anyone can experience jet lag. There are no strong statistics on exactly how many. However, possibly 60–70% of long haul travellers will experience some form of the condition.
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It is widely acknowledged that jet lag is worse when travelling east, but this has nothing to do with the direction of Earth's rotation. Like many creatures, humans have a circadian rhythm that follows a 24-hour period and is kept in sync by the eyes' response to natural light levels over the day.
1 – Anticipate the time change for trips by getting up and going to bed earlier several days before an eastward trip and later for a westward trip. 2 – If you're wearing a watch, change the time to the destination time zone when entering the plane. 3 – Avoid drinking alcohol during your flight.
Common ways pilots avoid jetlag is staying hydrated, good rest, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, exercising, or sleeping on the airplane. For long-haul flights airlines use multiple pilots for the flight to allow each pilot to get some rest. The more time zones that are crossed, the worse the jet lag.
Scientists have posited that the asymmetry of jet lag—the increased impact that results from eastward travel compared to westward—is connected to the fact that human circadian rhythms, on average, extend slightly beyond 24 hours.
Most people find that jet lag is worse when traveling east than it is when traveling west. View Source . Jet lag differs based on the direction of travel because it's generally easier to delay your internal clock than advance it. Jet lag does not occur on north-south flights that do not cross multiple time zones.
Jet lag can last anywhere from four to five days. Some specialists say that traveling over just one or two time zones is minimally problematic. Individuals who encounter jet lag feel better a few days after arriving at their destination. But it can take up to one week for some people to feel back to themselves.
Adjustment to a new time zone is harder when traveling east than traveling west. This is because you “lose” time and you end up trying to fall asleep when your body is actually waking up.
Final Thoughts. A flight to Japan can take anything from 4 to 18 hours and the time difference from your local time can also range from a few hours to 18 hours. Without planning ahead, you risk going through the first few days in Japan with jet lag.
Your body treats melatonin as a darkness signal, so melatonin tends to have the opposite effect of bright light. The time when you take melatonin is important. If you've flown east and need to reset your internal clock to an earlier schedule, take melatonin nightly in the new time zone.
According to experts, not eating while you fly can actually help to reduce jet lag. (And that's not the only thing your flight attendant won't tell you.) Turns out, traveling on a plane can do a lot of bad things to your body—including shutting your digestive system down once you reach a high altitude.