Jetlag can have more than a physical effect, sometimes taking travellers a week or 10 days to really recover from the sense that part of you was left behind and is only slowly catching up. The new-age spiritual travellers attribute this to our soul taking longer to catch up with the rest of us.
Whether there is any truth in that is a moot point, it can certainly feel like you’ve separated from yourself and the ground is moving like a fairground ride, and as any traveller will report, the impact of jet lag can range from the annoying to the dangerous.
The effect of jet lag on business executives or politicians involved in complex and delicate discussions can be catastrophic, and a pain for tourists who spend a significant part of their vacation slowly recovering from a long flight.
Jetlag is a temporary disorder that we feel when our circadian rhythms are interrupted. These patterns are essential for telling us when its time to eat and sleep, and its very useful to have a mechanism that doesn’t rely on the sun. Jetlag mainly affects travellers moving west/east, but north/south travellers can feel it too.
The more time-zones are crossed, the worse the problem, and severe and prolonged jet lag can last weeks. Symptoms can include sleepiness during the day, insomnia at night, poor concentration, confusion, hunger at inappropriate times or lack of appetite, and general malaise and irritability.
For the experienced traveller there is nothing new here, and experienced travellers will have heard tips like using melatonin (some swear by it, others say it does nothing to help) or turning your watch to the destination time as soon as possible, and not drinking alcohol during the flight, but a new report suggests that the best way to deal with jetlag is a combination of exercise and sunshine at the destination.
As soon as possible when you arrive, or early next morning if you arrive at night, hit the gym or the pavements for as long as possible. A ninety minute exercise run or workout in bright light, is said to offer the quickest return to normal. And repeat it in the evening for as many days as it takes.
Other research has shown that the effects of jetlag on memory may not be as temporary as we once thought. We may seem to be restored but it seems that memory loss can be long term and even permanent.
So, from a psychological and perhaps spiritual point of view, it may be best to either travel in short hops or stay local and let the Internet do the travelling.
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Annie Gurton is a fully qualified Psychological Therapist and Counsellor who has been helping people in emotional pain and difficulties for many years. She’s well-travelled in the world and in life, and she’s really cool.
www.anniegurton.com (+61) 423 632 657(+61) 423 632 657