Jet Lag

Jet lag, which is also called time zone change syndrome, is a sleep disorder that affects the body's ability to determine when it's time to sleep and when it's time to stay awake.

Only recently has jet lag begun to be treated as a medical condition, even though it affects millions of people every year. Jet lag occurs when a person travels quickly across multiple time zones.  The result is a disruption to the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, which governs when the body should be asleep or awake.  Because our bodies are slow to adjust, the body's internal clock is out of sync with the local time of the current time zone and will remain on it's original biological schedule for several days.

The  severity of jet lag is directly related to the number of time zones the person crosses. Some of the symptoms that are commonly associated with jet lag include daytime fatigue, a general sickly or unwell feeling, difficulty staying alert, and gastrointestinal problems. The direction that a person is travelling can also affect how long and which kinds of symptoms they will experience. People who are travelling eastward typically have difficulty fall asleep, and will experience the symptoms over a longer period of time. People who are travelling westward frequently experience early morning awakenings.

Epidemiology

Click on the link above to view epidemiologic information related to jet lag. This will include information which relates to the incidence and distribution of jet lag across a population. This will also include information regarding the prevalence of jet lag across a population in relation to specific factors, such as ethnicity, age, gender, etc...

Symptoms & Diagnosis

Click on the link above to view information regarding the diagnosis of jet lag. This will describe the preferential methods used to identify patients who suffer from jet lag.

Treatment

Click on the link above to view information regarding the treatment of jet lag. This will describe the latest techniques used to help treat patients suffering from jet lag, as well as the rate of success and possible implications of using the respective treatment.

Consequences

Click on the link above to view information regarding the types of consequences that have been identified in patients suffering from jet lag.

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