Melatonin: The Anti-Jet Lag Formula?
If you’re a frequent traveler, you may have come across a supplement called melatonin to avoid jet lag. Known as generally effective for help with sleeping, melatonin is a naturally produced hormone that is critical to the human body’s sleep/awake operation. Melatonin supplements are considered fairly gentle, though as with any supplement, risks can stem from both the amount taken and the combination of other drugs or supplements currently in the bloodstream. Can it beat jet lag? Let’s look at the details.
Circadian Rhythm And Avoiding Jet Lag
You may have heard of melatonin for jet lag, but do you know what it specifically is? Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland; while it offers several different functions, its primary usage within the human body involves the body’s regulation of its sleep/awake pattern known as circadian rhythm.
To fully understand melatonin’s role in circadian rhythm, it’s important to understand how the body’s circadian rhythm works with melatonin and avoiding jet lag. The circadian rhythm is a daily periodic phase found across living beings; this internal clock-like mechanism located in the hypothalamus maintains a regularity in sleep/waking patterns based on information from the retina.
Here’s a very simplified explanation of the process: a part of the hypothalamus senses whether it is day or night based on what the eye takes in. Depending on what it sees, it releases the hormone melatonin to affect drowsiness and blood temperature.
In short, your body’s internal clock is “set” based on the amount of daylight it is exposed to. When the amount of daylight diminishes, it triggers the release of melatonin to make you want to sleep, thus keeping your body on a regular pattern to maintain its overall health and avoiding jet lag elements.
Melatonin For Jet Lag?
How does this all come together when avoiding jet lag? One of the primary contributors to jet lag is travel across time zones. In essence, when you cross time zones, your circadian rhythm is being forced to adjust across several hours. For a biological system that’s designed to maintain a regular rhythm, it can be a shock to the system. This can cause alternating bouts of insomnia at night and sleepiness during the day.
Because melatonin naturally induces sleep when it is produced by the pineal gland, it is often recommended as an over-the-counter sleep aid. That’s why travelers often talk about melatonin for jet lag: when a traveler crosses time zones and knows that she must get to sleep at a certain time, she can take a certain dosage of melatonin to trick the body into thinking that it’s time to go to sleep.
How Melatonin Can Help You Avoid Jet Lag
The question every traveler wants to know is, “Is it truly an anti-jet lag formula?” And the answer? Well, yes — and no.
Travelers take sleep aids because they want to avoid jet lag symptoms: the weariness and disorientation, aches, etc. However, melatonin is not an anti-jet lag formula because jet lag is caused by several other factors in addition to disruption of circadian rhythm.
First, the good news: if you are traveling east (moving to time zones where bed times are earlier than you are used to), melatonin can be part of an effective jet lag treatment. It’s important to note that melatonin for jet lag only affects sleep symptoms, not the other ones discussed below. Careful use of dosage and timing can help you feel drowsy at the right time. Because each melatonin supplement is different, it is recommended that you follow the specific directions on the package before taking dosages.
Why Melatonin Is Not An Anti-Jet Lag Miracle
Now the bad news: if you’re flying west, bed times are later than you are used to. If you usually go to sleep at 11 PM New York time, that’s 8 PM San Francisco time — and a sleep aid won’t beat that type of jet lag. Melatonin may help travelers going to bed at their normal time (8 PM San Francisco time, in this example) if they take a dosage when they wake up in the middle of the night (for example, 3 AM). That can help them go back to sleep, though timing usage of melatonin when travelers have to wake up at a certain time can be tricky.
It is important to also factor in other jet lag causes. Flying is a naturally draining experience with such adverse effects as dehydration, poor circulation, and exposure to germs from recycled air. A sleep aid simply can’t help those types of things.
The best way to avoid jet lag is a combined approach. Melatonin can assist you in preparing for a time zone change by helping you get to sleep a little earlier in the days prior to your travel — in effect, easing you into a time-zone transition. Other jet-lag combatants include simple things like water (stay hydrated before and after your flight) and supplements that promote circulation and a strong immune system like Jet Lag Formula.
A Few More Words On Melatonin For Jet Lag
Recognized as an oral supplement rather than a drug, melatonin is available without prescription in the US and Canada. It is generally recognized as a safe supplement with almost no short-term side effects and no toxicity, though users have mentioned having vivid dreams, headaches, or grogginess the next day. While readily available in North America, melatonin is recognized as an “off-license” prescription in the UK. In Europe, Australia, and other countries, there appears to be a resistance for allowing over-the-counter distribution of a naturally occurring hormone.
