Travelling to a different time zone? Here's how to combat jetlag

Whether you travel for business or pleasure, chances are you’ve experienced jetlag. Its effects can range from being a little sleepy at the wrong time of day to feeling disorientated and almost flu-like. But what causes us to experience jetlag in the first place?

Dr Vikki Revell of the University of Surrey has been researching jetlag for the past 14 years, and how it affects travellers and shift workers. She says one of the main causes of jetlag is ‘circadian misalignment’, where your body click is out of sync with the sleep/wake cycle you want to be on.

‘The reason it happens is your body clock can’t instantly reset,’ she says. ‘It takes about an hour to adjust for each time zone you travel and your body can basically shift about an hour per day. So for you to fully adapt to a five-hour time change, it’s going to take about five days.’

You can, however, speed up the process by using or avoiding light. In other words, blocking light when you want to sleep and seeking it out when you want to be wide awake.

For many people, flying from east to west is less of a shock to the system than the other way round. Vikki explains that you can ‘phase delay’ your sleep in that direction in order to ease jetlag symptoms.

‘If you fly west, say to the US from the UK, you’ll want to shift your body clock later. The first night, you’re knackered, you go to bed, and then you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, and then that has an impact on how you feel during the day.’

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Delay bedtime

If you’re going on a longer break, it can be worth trying to adapt your sleep patterns before you fly. ‘If you’re flying west you want to delay your bedtime before you go,’ says Vikki.

‘If you’re able to do this, then for the two or three days before you go, delay your sleep schedule by an hour a day, and use light in the evening to help yourself stay up, and then shift your sleep schedule.’

Conversely, if you’re flying east, shift your sleep schedule earlier and use bright light in the morning to force yourself to feel alert earlier.

Seasoned travellers are familiar with jetlag and its effects, often coming up with their own ways of coping. Author, editor and extreme sleeper Phoebe Smith can often be found sleeping in the most unlikely places – under boulders or on clifftops and mountains – and is a frequent flier.

Phoebe finds that when she’s out on her travels she sleeps surprisingly well. ‘When I’m doing my extreme sleeping in very strange places – dangling off cliffs and such – I sleep without any kind of sleep aid,’ she says.

‘I think that’s because you’re so focused on staying safe that you’re not worrying about deadlines and other things that might be keeping you awake. You’re suddenly zoomed into the situation that you’re in. Often in those extreme environments it’s not a problem.’

In spite of her sleeping adventures, Phoebe has devised her own tips and tricks for a better night’s sleep when she’s travelling. ‘I always take a pillow from my bed with me when I travel,’ she says.

‘I get some strange looks as people pull out their weirdly shaped travel pillows and I pull out my full-size pillow from the bed – but, to your brain, that pillow smells of your bed, which triggers something in your brain that goes ‘It’s bedtime’.’

Travel smart

When she’s in transit Phoebe sometimes tries to adapt to the time zone she’s travelling towards before she gets there, but if she’s there for a short time then she might stick to UK time.

‘I went on a trip to Florida where they’re five hours behind, but I was only going to be there for four days, so I tried to stay on UK time,’ she explains.

‘I was up at about 5am and going to sleep at about half past eight in the evening while I was away. And it works the other way, so if I’m going overseas and I know I’m going to be there a little bit longer, I’ll try to get in that time zone as I go over on the plane. I’ll change my watch and stop looking at what time I ‘should’ be on.’

Also, when you arrive, don’t work against your physiology by eating at the wrong time. That’s something Phoebe has become used to: ‘Don’t just accept the aeroplane food because it’s put in front of you. Get yourself on your destination time zone, and if it’s time to sleep, sleep – refuse the food.’

While we usually associate jetlag with travellers, shift workers can also suffer many similar side effects – often more severely – such as fatigue, reduced concentration, dehydration, digestive problems, reduced performance, sleep issues and feeling as though they have a cold. This is largely thanks to their limited exposure to blue light, which helps the brain to release the melatonin that regulates your sleep cycle.

People who work night shifts for a long time frequently suffer from metabolism disruption that can result in diseases such as obesity and type II diabetes, as well as some cancers and cardiovascular disease. It can also cause some people to feel stressed or depressed.

‘Because employees are often tired during night shifts, this can lead to risky situations due to reduced concentration,’ says Toine Schoutens.

Toine is the CEO of Propeaq, a company that makes glasses with built-in light to stave off jetlag and keep shift workers alert. The blue light helps regulate melatonin production in the brain to control when you feel tired. The glasses include blue lenses for when you need to be alert and red lenses to block blue light for when you need to unwind and get ready for bed.

See the light

Toine’s first attempt to release a prototype of his glasses in 2007 was unsuccessful. But he was soon approached by the head coach of the Australian national swimming who was looking for an alternative to clumsy lightboxes that his team used to help keep themselves alert. ‘Sitting in front of a lightbox every day is not an efficient use of your time,’ explains Toine.

Since 2006, Toine has worked with the Dutch Olympic Swimming team to help their athletes perform at their best when they compete, helping them counteract the effects of international travel and early morning starts. ‘Jetlag has a direct effect on the performance of athletes, frequent flyers and businessmen,’ he says. ‘Their reaction rate and alertness decreases.’

Using the Propeaq glasses, it’s possible to shift your circadian rhythm by an hour to an hour and a half each day, allowing you to adjust to different time zones before you travel. And for shift workers looking to regulate their light intake, this bit of wearable tech can help to improve life at home and at work.

For a more low-tech solution to shift-disrupted sleep, Vikki suggests old-fashioned sunglasses to block out bright light on the way home from a night shift, and avoiding trying to cram in the day’s chores when you get home.

‘Get into bed as quickly as possible after you finish your night shift and into a dark room,’ she says. ‘If you imitate sleep quickly you’re much more likely to fall asleep, and then have a longer period of sleep.’

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What to do when noise annoys you

Whether it’s a dripping tap or noisy neighbours, Kate Faithfull‑Williams’ guide to zoning out unwanted sounds will help you sleep more peacefully…

There’s nothing like a car alarm at 2am to drive a person to distraction. Night is the time when we’re most disturbed by sirens, creaking floorboards or noisy neighbours. But what is it about noise that creates such a problem for sleep?

‘Before we drift off, the nervous system needs to settle – we need to assure our brains that we are in a safe place,’ explains sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan. ‘Jarring noise, particularly intermittent noise that varies in volume and pitch, puts the nervous system on red alert, which will wake you up and prevent you going back to sleep.’

The noise tells your body that you’re not safe. Your heart rate increases, your nerves feel jangly, your stress level shoots through the roof. This makes sense to our ancient brains – that extra blood flow and the stress hormone cortisol are preparing your body to run and to fight.

Except your life isn’t in danger. It’s just a car alarm, the neighbour’s music, or the curious gurgle of your radiator. But the psychological effect is massive and everything that can possibly worry you crowds in and stresses you out.

In search of silence

Our world is getting louder. ‘We’re living with more noise now than we were three years ago, not to mention 20 years ago,’ says Erling Kagge, author of Silence In The Age Of Noise. ‘Noise represents distractions, expectations and pressure,’ he says. ‘No wonder it is stressful.’

Noise-related sleep deprivation is estimated to cost the British economy £40 billion a year, according to a report entitled Why Sleep Matters – The Economic Costs Of Insufficient Sleep. Our work suffers when we’re unable to sleep. And the emotional cost of sleep loss is even greater: it can break relationships, make us feel negative and contribute to paranoia. Foggy head, snapping at strangers – we’ve all been there.

So let’s sort this out, now. The need for quiet starts as we wind down ready for sleep, so lower the volume on your TV, your music and even your own voice. ‘Silence can be replenishing as it lowers the blood pressure, calms stress and steadies the heart rate,’ says Gail Kinman, professor of occupational health psychology from the University of Bedfordshire.

‘After a busy day it’s vital to allow our minds and bodies to go down to a healthy baseline state. Twenty minutes of silence can give a psychological sense of resolution to our day. It’s important to have a space that allows you to reflect without interruption. Your brain has a chance to process your day and still your mind so you can sleep.’

But, warns Nerina, we seem to have lost the ability to be silent and, crucially, to be with silence. ‘Silence is essential to being able to sleep deeply and live vibrantly,’ she says. ‘Until fairly recently, quiet time has been innate and not something we’ve had to engineer. That is, until the world started getting noisier.’

Silence can be replenishing. It lowers the blood pressure, calms stress and steadies the heart rate

So what can we do? Start by slowing down, right now as you read this. Let the words sink in. Exhale. Release your shoulders away from your ears. Let your jaw soften. Now, onwards.

Perhaps you’re distracted by noise outside your window – environmental noise that stops you sleeping. It’s part and parcel of modern life: the boom in road traffic and air travel means we’re exposed to more noise. Intermittent noises like construction work and car alarms are particularly harmful to our sleep.

‘Evidence suggests that when noise is unnaturally loud it disorientates and can lead to the ‘fight or flight’ stress response,’ explains John Stewart in his book Why Noise Matters. ‘That stress can lead to physical illnesses.’

However, you can build silence around you without moving to a mountaintop. Soundproofing windows doesn’t necessarily mean replacing your current panes – thick curtains can do the job – and noise-blocking headphones are an almost-instant solution.

If you’re regularly disturbed by your neighbours, talk to them, calmly. They may be unaware they’re causing you sleepless nights. Record (in a notebook, or literally record the sound on your smartphone) the level of noise, its length and timing as evidence if you need to. Local authorities have a duty to deal with nuisances such as rowdy parties, dogs who bark 24/7 and endless DIY work.

In order to take action, the noise has to be significant enough to disturb you in your home and interfere with everyday life. Depending on the evidence you collect, the local authority may be able to serve an abatement notice, which requires the noise to cease completely, or be limited to certain times of day.

You can make a noise complaint via your local authority website. One more thing: if the noise is associated with threatening or anti-social behaviour then it’s best handled by the police. In the UK, you can dial 101, the police non-emergency number.

Facing the enemy within

Creaking floorboards. Ticking clocks. Weird sounds from your central heating. How come you can sometimes lurch out of slumber at the smallest noise in your own home?

‘Even when we’re asleep, our nervous system is aware of things in our environment below our conscious awareness, but if your nervous system is overly sensitive, your brain will jolt awake because it perceives you’re under attack,’ explains Nerina.

Some people are naturally more sensitive sleepers than others, but when we’re stressed we’re hyper-alert, which means our stress spikes at every sound and we wake frequently. What level of stress are we talking about? Perhaps it’s a busy time at work, or it’s the night before you go on holiday. And when big life events hit home, it makes you more vigilant for your own safety. At night, all our fears seep out sideways.

Deal with the surface first. Nail down the loose floorboards. Oil the squeaky hinge. Set the heating to come on at a later time. A simple fix may be all you need. You could experiment with earplugs, too. In a study at St George’s Hospital, London, doctors found that patients who wore earplugs slept more deeply.

Also, adding noise to your room can help. White noise acts as a controlled backdrop, stopping intermittent noises intruding on your sleep. ‘White noise is good if you live in a noisy environment, but it pays to pick carefully,’ says Nerina.

The undulating sound of a relaxing story can give your body time to process and get sleepy

The first rule is to avoid any noise that comes with blue light, so don’t keep the TV on. Smartphones also emit blue light of course, but on the Audible app you can set a sleep timer to turn off your bedtime story – you don’t need to look at the screen. ‘The undulating sound of a relaxing story can give your body time to process and get sleepy,’ adds Nerina.

Best of all are rhythmic natural sounds. There’s no change to be aware of, no information to take in. One study examined background noise and the stress responses of people. One group listened to classical music, one group had complete silence, and others heard the sound of waves. ‘Those who listened to the waves experienced the greatest calming effect: it reduced their pulse rate and their perception of stress,’ explains GP Dr Rangan Chatterjee.

One more sound that’s stressful is teeth grinding. A dentist fitted gumshield can help soften the noise and protect your enamel. But what could help, says Nerina, is an exercise to loosen the jaw muscle. It’s called ‘lion pose’.

‘Open your mouth as wide as possible in a soundless scream and exhale until you’re sputtering the last gasp of air from your lungs,’ she explains. Do this eight times before you brush your teeth at night and you’ll be less likely to wake to a screeching sound in the small hours.

Ultimately, though, we can’t mute the world around us. Car alarms will wail at weird hours of the night, as will babies. The optimum protection we can give ourselves from the noise around us, says Nerina, is to accept it as part of our world. ‘The best thing you can do is settle your nervous system to a degree that you can sleep through noise,’ she says.

So: unwind in the bath. Put your pyjamas on. Read a calming book and stretch out in bed. Exhale. Exhale longer. Letting go is far more effective than earplugs.

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