After a long flight you can be worn out from missing sleep, dry air and sitting still, and that happens on a flight within the same time zone too. Jet lag is something else entirely, so the remedy is different as well. What is the difference, and what helps each one?
One clock and one body, tired for different reasons. The first is . Jet lag is another phenomenon. After crossing several the is still set to the hours of origin, so it is hard to sleep or stay awake when the destination requires it. A physiology review separates the two to explain why rest may help the fatigue, while adjusting the body clock also demands time and .
Travel fatigue sometimes begins during the flight or immediately after it. Short nights, dry air, limits on movement and the stress of the journey can all contribute.
Jet lag appears especially in the days after crossing many time zones. The body signals sleep and waking by the time that applied at the place of origin, not by the new clock.
The review discusses adjusting the clock with timed light and further options, mainly in the context of athletes flying to competition. The direction of the flight changes the plan for the adjustment.
No single plan fits every flight. Telling the two apart helps explain why rest reduces fatigue but does not instantly reset the internal sleep cycle.
wat. The body can be tired from the aircraft while the internal clock still lives in the time zone you left.
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Identifying the cause of the tiredness correctly prevents the expectation that every remedy after a flight will work on the same problem.
How do we know?
A physiological review of the mechanisms of travel fatigue and of the shift in the body clock after flying east or west.
What is still unknown
This is a review with examples of interventions rather than a personal diagnosis. Hours of sleep, the direction of the flight and the individual all affect the symptoms.
Learn something?
Where to next
What is the difference between jet lag and tiredness from a long flight?travel
Does the direction you flew in from change how you play at home?jet lag
What does the evidence actually say about managing jet lag in athletes?flying