Does anything help with jet lag?

Publication Date:11/08/2008

Travelling across time zones can leave you feeling wide awake when you're supposed to be asleep, and sleepy when you should be up and about. It can spoil the first few days of your holiday and make it hard to get back to your normal routine when you get home. We look at what you can do to feel better faster.

What is jet lag?

Jet lag is a side effect of long-distance air travel. It can make you feel tired, irritable, and generally unwell.

When you travel by plane across several time zones, your body clock gets left behind in the place you started from. It takes a few days to catch up with you in your new time zone. So, for a while, your body acts as if you're still in the time zone of the country you travelled from. You may feel wide awake at night and sleepy during the day.

In general, the more time zones you cross, the worse jet lag gets. And flying east (from the UK to India or Thailand, for example) seems to be harder than flying west (from the UK to the US). When you fly west, you gain extra hours in your day. This kind of jet lag might not be as bad because most people find it easier to stay up later than go to sleep earlier.

What can I do to help myself?

Most people with jet lag feel better after a few days. But some things might help your body adjust more quickly to a new time zone. We don't know for certain whether the following things will help, because there's no good research, but some doctors advise that you:

Get plenty of rest before you travel
Set your watch to the time at your destination before you leave
Drink plenty of fluids – but not alcohol – during the flight. Alcohol can make you feel worse
Try to sleep on the plane if it's night time at your destination
Stay awake until it gets dark, when you arrive after a long trip going west. Get up when it gets light after a long trip going east
Sleep and eat at the correct times for your time zone
Avoid alcohol, and caffeinated drinks such as coffee and tea, for a while. They may stop your body adjusting to the new times
Take some light exercise, such as walking or sightseeing, during daylight. Natural light may help your body adjust to the new routine.

What about drug treatments?

Melatonin is a natural hormone that controls your body clock and helps you sleep. There's quite good research to show that a synthetic form of this hormone can help with jet lag. You take it at night (destination time), usually for three or four days.

In the UK, melatonin (brand name Circadin) is only available on prescription from a doctor. But it's not usually prescribed for jet lag. It's recommended for treating sleep problems in people over 55.

In some countries, such as the US and Thailand, melatonin is sold as a supplement and is available over the counter in health food shops. It's also available on the internet. But these supplements won't have gone through the same safety checks that apply to medicines in the UK, and the exact ingredients can vary. Scientists have found impurities in the melatonin tablets sold by some companies. It can be difficult to know which companies to trust.

There hasn't been much research on the possible side effects of melatonin. But doctors say it is not suitable for people with epilepsy, or for people taking drugs to stop their blood clotting, such as warfarin.

Taking sleeping tablets at bedtime for the first few nights after you arrive in a new time zone may help you sleep better. But you may get side effects from sleeping tablets, such as a headache, a runny nose or diarrhoea. The sleeping tablets that have been studied for jet lag are zolpidem (brand name Stilnoct) and zopiclone (Zimovane). You can only get these on prescription from your doctor.

We don't know if sleeping tablets reduce other symptoms of jet lag, such as poor concentration. There's also the problem that sleeping tablets can be addictive. This means it can be hard to stop taking them. They also stop working as well after you've been taking them a little while. This is because your body gets used to them. You should only take sleeping tablets for a short time.

Sleeping tablets can sometimes make you feel drowsy the day after you take them. You should be careful about driving if you're taking this treatment.

Taking sleeping tablets and melatonin together increases your chances of side effects. These can include sickness, confusion, a headache, sweating, a dry mouth and dizziness.

To learn more see our information on jet lag.

News Archive

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.