Jet lag is a temporary disorder brought on when you fly from one timezone to another. Its technical name is desynchronosis, and it can hit you as soon as you arrive in a new country. But flying via private jet can help you fight jet lag.
Adjusting to jet lag takes time. Your body can adjust to one or two timezones each day. So, if you cross one timezone, you’ll typically need one to two days to recover. If you cross six timezones, you’ll need around three to five days. If you’re going on a week-long trip, you may have to return home the moment your body adjusts.
When you suffer from jet lag you’re likely to feel strong fatigue and insomnia. You may also experience:
- Anxiety
- Confusion
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Indigestion
- Irritability
- Memory loss
- Nausea
- Sweating
As you can imagine, many of these symptoms would have a devastating impact on your holiday or business trip.
There are several factors that cause jet lag. Understanding them can help you avoid them – especially when you fly via private jet.
Here are some aspects which are relevant to jet lag, and how private jet charter can help:
Light
We all have an internal body clock, and external factors can confuse this body clock. Light is one of the key elements we use to decide whether it is day or night – and, therefore, whether it’s time to wake up or go to sleep.
When we cross into another timezone, it will be light at a time that our body clocks don’t expect. If you travel east, you want extra light in the mornings and need to avoid light in the evenings. If you travel west, it’s the other way around.
Wearing sunglasses is a fantastic tip to help regulate the amount of light that comes into contact with your eyes, helping you to manually adjust your body clock.
How private jet charter can help:
Modern private jets often feature high-tech lighting which is programmed to help you combat jet lag. For example, the lights on-board a Bombardier Global 7500 change based on the biological rhythm of the passenger. In other words, the plane does the hard work for you and helps to adjust your body clock through its lighting system.
Contrast this with commercial aviation, where passengers are frequently woken up by unwanted internal lights, and it’s easy to see what a huge difference this can make.
Sleep
By definition, jet lag is all about sleep. If you can adjust your sleeping pattern quickly, you can avoid jet lag altogether. Experienced flyers may begin to prepare for a trip, days in advance, by gradually altering their sleep patterns. This could mean going to bed and waking up one hour later or earlier each day to give yourself a head start.
For many people, this will be difficult to implement given their daily schedules. Instead, one small thing you can do is adjust your watch before you land. This will help change your mindset as you prepare to adjust to the new timezone.
How private jet charter can help:
Private jets are much easier to sleep on than commercial airlines. Reclining chairs and beds – plus a much higher degree of privacy – means you have a far superior environment for sleeping. You can ask the flight attendant to adjust the lighting or noise to your preference.
On larger and more luxurious jets, you may even be able to enjoy an entire bedroom to yourself. This is the perfect way to tackle jet lag on a long-distance flight.
Air
The main symptom of jet lag is fatigue, and the air you breathe can directly affect this. Ideally, you want to fly in an aircraft that has low cabin pressure. This is because low cabin pressure applies less pressure to your heart and lungs. Along with low humidity, this is a sure-fire way to increase the chances of a smooth, relaxing flight.
A preferable pressure, comfortable temperature and regular hydration will help you beat that dreaded jet lag.
How private jet charter can help:
Private jets generally have much lower cabin pressure than commercial airlines. For example, the Gulfstream G650ER’s cabin pressure is less than half that of a standard commercial aircraft. And they invariably offer more control over temperature and humidity, too.
Because private charter flights come with private attendants or self-serve drinks, it’s also faster and easier to grab some water and keep yourself hydrated. It’s a small thing but, when combined with everything else, it all adds up to help you combat jet lag.
