Jet Lag and Your Mental Health

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPhysical Symptoms of Jet LagMental Health Effects of Jet LagCauses of Jet LagCoping With Jet LagPreventing Jet Lag

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Physical Symptoms of Jet Lag

Mental Health Effects of Jet Lag

Causes of Jet Lag

Coping With Jet Lag

Preventing Jet Lag

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Your body has a 24-hour internal cycle known as a circadian rhythm orbody clock, that tells you when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up.Factors like sunlight and hormones like melatonin help set your body clock according to your location, so you sleep and wake up at the appropriate time for that location.

Jet lag typically occurs if you take a flight across more than three time zones because your body clock is still functioning according to your previous location and hasn’t caught up to the timings of your new destination.

This article discusses the symptoms, causes, and mental health effects of jet lag, as well as some prevention and coping strategies that may be helpful.

These are some of the physical symptoms of jet lag you may experience:

Traveling eastward is generally associated with difficulty falling asleep at the usual time whereas traveling westward is associated with difficulty waking up at the usual time.

While jet lag can be physically tiring, not getting enough sleep can also take a toll on your emotional andmental health. Not being in sync with the local time zone can be confusing and disorienting.

These are some of the mental and emotions symptoms of jet lag you may experience:

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When you travel to a new time zone, your body may have trouble adjusting to it because your circadian rhythm is still attuned to the timings of your previous location. As a result, you may be wide awake even though it’s dark outside and everyone else is sleeping. Or, you may feel extremely sleepy in the daytime when you’re supposed to be awake and functioning.

Jet lag tends to get more severe with each time zone you cross, due to a larger gap between your original time zone and the new time zone you’re in.Jet lag also tends to be worse when you travel eastward as compared to westward.

Jet lag tends to get more severe with each time zone you cross, due to a larger gap between your original time zone and the new time zone you’re in.

Jet lag also tends to be worse when you travel eastward as compared to westward.

In fact, apart from your sleep-wake timings, many of your other bodily functions are also synced to your circadian rhythm, such as your body temperature, hormonal activity, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.

Therefore, disrupting your circadian rhythm disturbs more than just your sleep cycle. For instance, you may feel hungry according to your mealtimes at your previous location, which may not align with your destination.

The severity to which everyone experiences jet lag can vary, but these are some groups that may be more likely to experience it:

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Jet lag typically can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks—roughly one day per hour of time difference between your original location and new destination.

These are some strategies that can help you cope with jet lag:

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If you have a trip coming up, these are some steps that can help you prevent or mitigate the effects of jet lag:

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A Word From Verywell

Traveling can be stressful enough without adding jet lag to the mix. Jet lag can make you feel tired, irritable, disoriented, and out of sorts. It can make it hard for you to function during the day and cause you to be awake at odd hours.

It can be helpful to plan ahead and factor the effects of jet lag into your itinerary to take some of the pressure off you when you arrive and give your body some time to adjust its rhythm to your destination.

8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Jet lag disorder.National Library of Medicine.Jet lag prevention.Herxheimer A.Jet lag.BMJ Clin Evid. 2014;2014:2303.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Ambesh P, Shetty V, Ambesh S, Gupta SS, Kamholz S, Wolf L.Jet lag: Heuristics and therapeutics.J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(3):507-510. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_220_17Victoria State Government.Jet lag.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Jet lag.

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine.Jet lag disorder.National Library of Medicine.Jet lag prevention.Herxheimer A.Jet lag.BMJ Clin Evid. 2014;2014:2303.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Ambesh P, Shetty V, Ambesh S, Gupta SS, Kamholz S, Wolf L.Jet lag: Heuristics and therapeutics.J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(3):507-510. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_220_17Victoria State Government.Jet lag.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Jet lag.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Library of Medicine.Jet lag disorder.National Library of Medicine.Jet lag prevention.Herxheimer A.Jet lag.BMJ Clin Evid. 2014;2014:2303.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.Ambesh P, Shetty V, Ambesh S, Gupta SS, Kamholz S, Wolf L.Jet lag: Heuristics and therapeutics.J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(3):507-510. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_220_17Victoria State Government.Jet lag.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Jet lag.

National Library of Medicine.Jet lag disorder.

National Library of Medicine.Jet lag prevention.

Herxheimer A.Jet lag.BMJ Clin Evid. 2014;2014:2303.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Jet lag.

Ambesh P, Shetty V, Ambesh S, Gupta SS, Kamholz S, Wolf L.Jet lag: Heuristics and therapeutics.J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(3):507-510. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_220_17

Victoria State Government.Jet lag.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Jet lag.

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