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Illustration of a passenger sleeping during a flight Jet lag: feeling the health effects of long-distance travel
 
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So maybe you're not a Hollywood jet setter, but do you know what? You can suffer the same health effects of travel that celebrities do.

Here's a test about jet travel that will help you understand the best ways to feel like a super-star when you arrive... whatever your destination!

What do you know about jet lag?
1. Jet lag is something that only jet setters and business travellers get.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
Jet lag can happen to anyone who travels across one or more time zones. Unfortunately, no one is immune.
2. Jet lag is all in your head.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
Jet lag is a physiological response. Characterized by irritability, lethargy, insomnia and other symptoms, jet lag is caused when a person's biological clock
(which governs our sleep and wake cycles) gets thrown temporarily out of whack due to travel across several time zones.
3. Select a flight that gets you to your destination early in the evening and stay up until 10 pm local time. Avoid taking a nap.
Illustration of a checkmark TRUE.
Know that saying "When in Rome do as the Romans do"? Well, the same goes for reducing the effects of jet lag. As soon as you board your flight, change your watch to the time zone of your destination. It will help jump-start the adjustment process.
4. Stay up late the night before you catch your flight. Feeling tired will help you adjust faster to the new time zone.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
Travelling tired or even with a hangover will increase the effects of jet lag. Instead, get the number of hours of sleep you normally get and travel rested, not exhausted.
5. If you're travelling east, go to bed earlier before you leave home.
Illustration of a checkmark TRUE.
If you're travelling east, get your body used to the time change by getting up and going to bed earlier for several days before you travel; if you're travelling west, go to bed two hours later than your usual time.
6. A couple of alcoholic drinks on board your flight will help you sleep and combat arrival fatigue or jet lag.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
According to the Travel Statement on Jet Lag developed by the Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel on the website of the Public Health Agency of Canada, travellers should minimize their intake of alcohol—and caffeine-containing beverages.

An airplane cabin is a low-humidity environment and unless you consume plenty of hydrating fluids, such as water, you will arrive at your destination dehydrated. This increases the jet lag effect. Alcohol not only increases dehydration but also has a markedly greater intoxication effect when consumed during a flight.

Coffee can also increase dehydration during a flight and should be avoided. Instead, drink plenty of water before you board and during your flight. That way you'll also have to get up and walk to the plane's washroom; moving around while on board also helps reduce stiffness caused by sitting and will improve circulation.
7. As soon as you get to your destination, go out for a walk.
Illustration of a checkmark TRUE.
Daylight is a powerful stimulant for regulating the biological clock. And in fact, staying indoors can make jet lag worse. This is because our biological clock or "circadian rhythms," which can be measured by the rise and fall of body temperature, blood levels of certain hormones and other physical phenomenon, are influenced by our exposure to sunlight and help your body tell you when to eat, sleep and wake.
8. Eating a substantial meal when you arrive will help diminish any jet lag you may feel.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
Heavy meals can increase lethargy and make jet lag feel even worse. Avoid eating anything more than a snack.
9. If you exercise regularly, you should have a big evening workout at your destination. It will help you go to sleep.
Illustration of an «x» FALSE.
Exercising late in the evening will rev up your metabolism, which can then make it difficult to fall asleep.
10. With a little advance planning and some smart choices when you arrive at your destination, you can fully adapt to a new time zone in just a couple of days.
Illustration of a checkmark TRUE.
Although it can take a week or more to adjust to an intercontinental journey, the impact and duration of jet lag can be dramatically reduced if you take preventive measures.
 
  Date published: April 15, 2005
  BulletKristin Jenkins is a Toronto writer and editor who specializes in health and medicine.

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