"Mom, why don't youuu eatttt lllluuuuuuuuccccccccchhh?" I looked through my droopy eyes trying to understand what my son was saying. I could comprehend the eat part but missed the lunch part. I dozed off again, skipping my lunch and dinner only to wake up and eat breakfast. It was the third day after my arrival from India. My flight started at 7 in the morning Indian time for which I had to start from home at 3:30 for which I had to wake up at 2 to shower and get ready.
The previous night after the last minute packing I finally went to bed at 1 in the morning only to wake up an hour later. We landed at 12:30 London time in Heathrow airport and boarded the flight back at 3:30. We sat on the runway due to some technical problems for almost four hours doing absolutely nothing but waiting inside the stuffy flight. Yes, they do turn off the air conditioning while on the runway. But they did not give any food or water while we were waiting for the plane to take off. Finally, we took off at around 4:30 London time to land in Phoenix at 9:40 in the night instead of 6:30 in the evening. By the time we claimed our baggage and got out it was around 11. We reached home at 12 midnight and by the time I took a shower and ate my dinner (or breakfast) it was around 2 a.m. Phoenix time which was about 3:30 afternoon Indian standard time. I was wide awake and the whole house was asleep. It took me five days to get back to somewhat normal timing. My body is still trying to fight with me to adapt to the new timings as I write this now. I am suffering with what is called jet lag.
Jet lag is a condition that the body goes through when a person travels through different time zones. It could be traveling inside the country where the difference in time from place to place may vary from an hour to several hours, or traveling internationally which makes a difference of at least 10 hours or more. It normally takes a person anywhere from one to two weeks to get adapted to the new timings after they arrive. Some people get adjusted faster than the others depending on the condition of their body and general health. Someone like me with poor health would take longer than a week or in some cases suffer through it even up to a month. People with good health, who are physically active and young normally take less time to recover.
Symptoms of jet lag include:
1. Fatigue: trying to adjust to the new timings makes our body and mind tired.
2. Insomnia: it could be night time at our destination whereas middle of the afternoon at our starting point. So we tend to sleep in the afternoons which was originally night time for our bodies and be awake at night time which was previously day time.
3. Appetite problems: our eating patterns change according to time changes where we substitute breakfast for dinner or lunch for breakfast thus causing changes in appetite. This could lead to digestion problems and stomachaches or heart burn, changes in stool patterns or urinary problems.
4. Irritation: we tend to be easily irritated as our bodies are trying to adapt to the new conditions and may get mad for no reason.
5. Disorientation: while suffering with sleeping patterns and changes in eating habits our mind is confused as well. It is easy to be disoriented with things around us including forgetfulness, inattentiveness, confusion, etc.
6. We may end up with nausea, vomiting, and dizziness because of the eating patterns and lack of sleep in the nights or too much sleepiness in the afternoons. Our bodies react in different ways while trying to figure out what is going on with all these changes.
Things we can do to help ourselves recover quickly from jet lag:
1. Exercise every day so we can be physically active.
2. Eat healthy foods so as to avoid stomach problems.
3. Avoid sleeping as much as possible in the afternoons so we can get our body readjusted to the new timings.
4. Eat whatever meals we ate before we started and slowly introduce the new timings to avoid appetite problems.
5. Drink plenty of fluids to help with digestion problems.
6. While on the flight try to get up from the seat if it is a long flight every half an hour and walk up and down the aisles to avoid stiffness and keep the blood flow going.
7. I find it easy to stand in the back where the flight attendants are to do some stretches.
8. Maintain the same timings in our watches so we know what to do as far as the eating and sleeping is concerned.
9. Flights can get very stuffy with so many people around us, so try to do some breathing exercises and take vitamin C before, during and after the travel as to keep our immunity boosted so we don't get sick.
10. For at least five days after reaching our destination, keep light activity throughout the day outside the house so we don't get breathing problems and get our metabolism going and keeping our minds alert.
I know it is hard to do all the things I mentioned but even if we can keep up with some we will be in better shape sooner than suffer from severe jet lag. As far as I am concerned, I am trying to engage myself in playing with my son's dog in the back yard so I stay active. If you can't do everything at least try to drink plenty of water and avoid junk food while you recover because, OUR LIFE MATTERS.