I’m going to New Zealand in a week or so, and the flight is 14 hours and crosses the International Date Line. That got me to wondering: suppose the flight takes more like 24 hours, give or take. Would my body just think it’s the same time (only the next / previous day) and I wouldn’t have any jet lag?
I’m assuming you’re travelling from the US.
If so, Air NZ 1 leaves LA at 8pm-ish, takes 13 hours, and so lands at 9am LA time. But you’re now at 5.30am local time - so it’s fairly similar to flying from Europe to east coast USA. The change in dates (you land two days after you departed) will be far more disorienting.
Going the other way will be harder - the effect is that you lose three hours of the night.
It’s conceivable you could land before you took off. I would call that jet rush.
Which ever direction you traveled, if you were in a plane for 14 hours, you would definately get jet leg, probably both.
This is not true. I’ve flown many times from points in the USA to Argentina, generally in the same time zone. It never gave me jet lag, although I would often be tired from not sleeping on the overnight flight, it was pretty easy to adjust.
Compare that with flying from the USA to East Asia or ANZ. Again, a long damned time spent in the plane, but serious jet lag. The problem is your “inner clock” expects it to be X time, and it’s X-12 (or +12, doesn’t matter). So when your body thinks it should be night, it’s day.
Not the same effect for everyone, but definitely a noticeable phenomenon.
It’s a direct flight from San Francisco. 14 hours. I’m aware that this particular flight will give me jet lag - I’m asking about a hypothetical flight that would be more like 24 hours. Alaska to New Zealand, maybe.
I’ve done the trip across the Pacific both ways many times, and done it while living in Australia and while living in the US. Going east you arrive the same day as you left (but earlier in the day); going west you miss a whole day.
I don’t think tht gaining or losing a day gives you jet lag at all. Leaving on Friday afternoon and arriving of Friday morning is weird, but it feels like it’s the next day, because you just went through a night. Leaving on Friday evening and arriving on Sunday morning feels less weird, even though you just went through a night and missed out on Saturday.
On the whole I found the westward trips less stressful, because you have nighttime for almost all the flight, and so you can sleep for most of it. Flying east, you have a very short night, and especially if you have trouble sleeping in a plane, you find yourself in the US having to cope with a new day and too little sleep.
The problem isn’t just that you are spending a long time cooped up in an aluminum tube. It’s that you are going to a place where the rising and setting of the sun is not in sync with what your body is used to.
If you took off, flew for a long time and landed at a place where those cycles are the same as what you are used to, you’d probably be short on sleep, but not jet lagged. Of course, there’s only one area on earth that would be true of - any place that has the same longitude as your home. So unless you live due north or due south of NZ, you’re probably going to have to cope with some jet lag from treveling there.
It’s not the length of the flight that causes jet lag. It’s the difference in time zones. As ShibbOleth explained, your body will it expect to be at one time of day, but it’s actually at another. The length of the flight will affect how tired you are immediately after traveling, but jet lag can continue for a week.
How to reduce travel fatigue: 1) stay hydrated (drink plenty, no alcohol), 2) stretch and walk around, 3) don’t wear contact lenses.
How to reduce jet lag: 1) check what time of day your flight arrives. Prepare yourself for it. If it’s morning, force yourself to relax and sleep. If it’s evening, force yourself to stay awake. The idea is to prime yourself for the appropriate day/night cycle you’ll soon be living in. 2) Eat enough to maintain energy while traveling, but don’t overeat, especially if you should be sleeping. 3) Once you arrive, get lots of bright sunlight during the day, and have a very dark room at night. Eat according to your new schedule and do not snack at night. Your body responds to light and food cues–don’t give mixed signals.
I have made many trips to Singapore. On the return flight (Singapore-Tokyo-Seattle) I always arrive about the same time i departed and on the same day.
However having just spent a week in Singapore and being somewhat accustomed to the time difference (if I remember correctly, around 18 hours), I am jet lagged.
This could be because:
- Sleeping on planes sucks and I didn;t get a good night’s sleep
- My body is used to it being 3am since I am used to the time i am coming from
- Both
The weird thing is when I fly to asia i have less trouble adapting to their time, than I do adapting after I return. I can get used to the time there in 1 day it takes me 3 days to recover when I get back here.
Xema is right. The only place you can fly to and avoid jet lag entirely is a place that is roughly the same longitude. Anywhere else, and the sun is going to be shining at the wrong time.
Somebody’s bound to suggest melatonin. It’s all the rage in the UK, because only people who’ve used it and smuggled their unused capsules are enthusing about it, everybody else saying “yes, but …we only have science to defend us…oh you can’t be bothered…”
Just Me, but isnt the International Date line immaterial? I mean, the body doesnt know an artifical Line we put on the earth.