Overcoming jet lag is not too hard for people who fly only occasionally, possibly once or twice a year on vacation or for the occasional business trip, but for aircrews and regular long-haul fliers, jet lag can bring various health problems that can become virtually permanent.

Long-haul travelers will be familiar with the disturbance to their sleep pattern and the insomnia which can result from a long trip, in addition to such things as changes in mood, irritability, stomach problems and difficulty in dealing with information. But, for the very frequent flier these often transient symptoms become a part of everyday life and are frequently joined by menstrual cycle problems for women and even by short-term psychiatric problems for a number of individuals.

The main factors that influence the degree of jet lag that you experience, aside from the frequency of travel, are the distances involved, the direction of travel and your age.

If you regularly travel across just one or two time zones then any affects are likely to be very mild. But, once you start crossing more than three time zones, and especially once you get up to frequently traveling across six or more time zones, jet lag symptoms begin to increase markedly.

The symptoms of jet lag are also far more marked if you travel east and tend to affect you less when flying west. For example, if you travel from London to Singapore on vacation you will experience greater jet lag on arrival in Singapore at the start of your holiday than you will in London when you return home.

Generally when you fly east you can expect that jet lag will last for several days and a good guide is roughly two thirds of the number of time zones traveled across. For instance, if you fly across six time zones you might expect jet lag to affect you for approximately four days. When flying west jet lag should be expected to last about half this time.

Another important consideration when it comes to jet lag is age and, as you get older, you will discover that you are increasingly affected by jet lag.

There is no such thing as a true jet lag cure although there is a great deal that you can do to help to reduce jet lag symptoms.

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