Re-acquainting with jet lag

10-16-2006

We've been spoiled for the last 20 years.

As I discovered during a recent trip, unless and until Pittsburgh International manages to attract or induce a major airline to once again offer nonstop trans-Atlantic service, area travelers should be prepared to put up with more severe effects of jet lag.

Since the 1985, when British Airways began offering nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Gatwick Airport near London, area travelers have had an option of crossing the Atlantic in a single bound. Eventually, when US Airways was at what now seems its zenith, we also enjoyed the possibility of nonstop flights to Frankfurt and Paris. Those were the good old days.

Now that the contraction of the airline formerly known as US Airways is complete and every Pittsburgh itinerary to and from Europe involves making a connection somewhere else, generally New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington or Charlotte. That inevitably adds minimum of three or four hours more to a trip than it might have previously, and sometimes much longer.

Three or four hours doesn't seem like much, but when added to the end of already long travel days and time zone shifts, they can be enough to tip a tired traveler over the abyss.

The bottom line when you travel overseas: Be prepared for jet lag.

Every traveler knows about jet lag. It's what happens when you start your day in one time zone and end it in another many miles to the east or west. Symptoms range from profound fatigue or general weariness for days after a trip, to loss of concentration or motivation, even chronic, persistent headaches.

Jet lag is caused by dislocations in one's circadian (daily) rhythms. While not as rigorous in terms of temporal dislocation, north south journeys in a single time zone can also be debilitating. Trip lag, a related factor, is a result of simply spending too many hours in the stale, desert dry air that is recirculated in airplanes and airports. Either or both can contribute to post-trip malaise.

Based on my own anecdotal experience, the cumulative effects are either worse on westbound journeys or on those that involve a third flight. Maybe both. Our trip from Pittsburgh to Rome, with a relatively painless 90-minute connection in Philadelphia, meant departing home at a comfortable 1 p.m. We were at our hotel in Rome by 10the next morning, even though our body clocks were still ticking at 4 a.m. Yet after a shower and two-hour nap, we were able to complete the day's activities not much worse for the wear and with minimal lingering effects.

On the other hand, our return itinerary was a 5600-mile odyssey that involved a nearly 3-hour flight from Malta to Frankfurt scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. Our second leg, a 4,400-mile, 8-hour hop to Washington Dulles departed at 5:15 p.m., which gave us just enough time for a long walk between gates at Frankfurt airport, an excursion that involved three, separate security checks. Landing in Dulles at 8:20 p.m. local time, we got our bags, cleared customs, re-checked the bags, and then made the long trek to G Concourse, from which our Pittsburgh flight left about 9:45 local time (3:34 a.m. body time). Although we were in a mental fog when the plane landed, all of the logistical arrangements went smoothly. Our bags arrived, the car started and we were home just before midnight, a journey which had started 22 hours earlier. (I also figured we got several miles of exercise scurrying between gates in the four airports we traversed that day).

At home, we showered and collapsed into bed, just as we had in Rome, but this time, we felt the classic symptoms of jet lag for several days, especially inability to get a full night's sleep.

Clearly the longer journey had put us over the edge.

Experts agree that the severity of a case of jet lag is generally more severe the more time zones you cross. Because of the way time zones are organized, it's usually less disruptive to travel westward than to the east, but it also depends on other factors, such as departure and arrival times and the total amount of time spent in transit.

Younger travelers may also have better tolerance for jet lag because of better regulation, and physical fitness also seems to play a role.

Different people have various schemes to combat trip lag. There are jet lag diets, melatonin treatments and white light visors that are supposed to help the body readjust its circadian rhythms more easily. I've never put much faith in these approaches, simply because I am generally too busy to think about them before a trip.

My basic anti-jet lag prescription involves staying up for a while after the plane departs, enjoying the meal, and in-flight entertainment, drinking lots of liquids, mostly water. One alcoholic drink seems to be fine, but I stay away from caffeine. Then I get some shut-eye. I bring an eye mask, inflatable travel pillow and ear plugs, although mostly I rely on the headset music show, although a CD cassette would also do nicely. Finally, I get my large frame as comfortable as possible in what is almost always an economy class seat and try to relax. It may only be an hour or two, but that little nap generally works for me.

On long flights, I always make a point to get up and walk around the cabin from time to time. Sometimes, I take an aspirin to help me relax, but nothing stronger. A daub of Vaseline on the lips and nose helps, as well as skin cream. Then I drink some more water.

The final part of the prescription comes into play upon arrival. I make sure to get at least a few minutes of sunshine and fresh air as soon as possible after landing, reset my watch to the local time, and try to fit into the day, staying up (OK maybe with a short nap) until nightfall.

But all this apparently may not be enough to overcome the disruption of the much longer trips. In that case, the only recourse is to be prepared with a cushion at the trip's end, not the fluffy kind you put your head on, but the kind that provides a day or so at home before you try to re-assume your normal activities. Otherwise, you may just find yourself nodding off just when you want to be wide awake.

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