How is jet lag different in travellers?

Your circadian rhythm coordinates sleep, alertness, temperature and digestion. Crossing time zones makes that rhythm disagree with the local clock. Eastward travel often requires an earlier schedule, while westward travel requires a later one, and people may find one direction easier than the other. Travel at night, fragmented sleep, dehydration, stress and unfamiliar surroundings can add to tiredness. Symptoms may include poor concentration, headache, irritability, difficulty sleeping or waking at an unwanted time.

Begin adapting your sleep timing before departure when practical. After landing, follow local daylight and meal times, keep naps brief, drink water and reserve caffeine for earlier in the local day. Avoid alcohol close to sleep and give yourself recovery time before driving, operating equipment or making demanding decisions. A regular wake time usually gives the body a clearer signal than sleeping late after a poor night.

Get medical advice if sleep disruption continues well beyond the trip, repeatedly affects work or safety, or comes with persistent low mood. Urgent assessment is needed for severe confusion, fainting, chest pain, serious breathing trouble or a new neurological symptom, because these are not expected features of ordinary jet lag.

Ask which schedule suits your travel direction, whether light therapy or medicine is safe for you, and how to manage alertness during the first days after arrival.