Jetlag related sleep problems and their management: A review

Abstract

Objectives

We reviewed Jetlag, particularly in view of its effects on sleep and how it can be managed.

Methods

The Proquest Central database of Kırıkkale University, PubMed and Google scholar were used while searching for the following key words: “Jetlag”, “symptoms”, “sleep”, “melatonin” and “treatment”.

Results

Flight dysrhythmia, otherwise known as jetlag, is caused by flying globally over various time zones. Most passengers who fly over six or more different time zones generally require 4–6 days after travelling to resume their usual sleep patterns and to feel less lethargic during the day. Signs of jet lag can vary between debilitated awareness, insomnia, feeling tired during the day and frequent waking during the night. During the night our pineal glands excrete a hormone called melatonin; dim lights cause the continuation of excretion of these hormones whereas any exposure to bright lights stems the flow of release. Common precautionary measures are specific diets, bright lights and melatonin agonists (Ramelteon, Agomelatine).

Conclusion

Sleep issues derived from jetlag were found to be most common in passengers who flew through various time belts. Melatonin assumes a critical part in adjusting the body's circadian rhythms and has been utilized restoratively to re-establish irritated circadian rhythms.

Introduction

Jet lag normally impacts air passengers who pass numerous time belts. It consequences from the body's internal rhythms being out of sync with the day-night cycle at the designation in which the traveler arrives. Melatonin is a pineal hormone that performs a primary part in adjusting physical rhythms and has commonly been prescribed as a drug to reorient these rhythms with their surroundings [1].

Travelling across several continents through various longitudes results in flight dysrhythmia, known as jet lag. Signs of jet lag can vary between debilitated awareness, insomnia, feeling tired during the day and frequent waking during the night. Such factors as the individual travelling, the count of time belts that have been passed and the route of the journey are significant elements that affect the severity of jet lag symptoms [2].

The signs of flight dysrhythmia are commonly exhaustion throughout the day and disturbances in sleep patterns; however additionally encompass loss of mental performance, weakness and irritability [3]. The reason for jet lag is due to the disharmonizing of the body's circadian structure and the day to night cycle of the destination the passenger has travelled to. Loss of sleep throughout the travel period is an additional factor in jetlag. Once passengers have flown over 6 or more time longitudes, it will take them between 4 and 6 days to resume their ordinary sleeping patterns and to feel less lethargic throughout the day. It is important to note that the number of time zones surpassed and in which direction these zones were contribute to the harshness of jetlag [1].

Travel towards the East induces a phase advance in the body's circadian rhythms, whereas westbound travel creates the reversed effect [4]. Ergo, people who fly westbound adjust their bodily rhythms at the speed of one and half hours per day, whereas eastbound passengers do so at one hour per day. This applies to both daytime and nighttime travels. Another important aspect to take note of is that jet lag and the disturbance of the circadian rhythm could also aggravate pre existing disorders associated with the above [2,5].