As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, the daily routine of more people has become irregular. In particular, as sleep hour is irregular, sleep quality has also deteriorated. People who suffer from irregular sleep patterns ask many questions about quality sleep. In this regard, Health Kyunghyang intends to deliver valuable information about quality sleep and proper sleep management to readers through a planned article with various questions. The eleventh article is 'What should I do to adjust the biological clock to the changed time zone?' < Editor's Note>
Recently, with Sky Road opening, more and more people are planning overseas travel. Still, we can't shake the worry of jet lag off. Humans have a wake cycle and a sleep cycle depending on the time of day and night. However, when we travel long distances in different time zones, our bodies experience night and day changes due to the time difference. And the mismatch between the local time and the biological clock results in a jet lag in which various symptoms appear in the body. In the summer vacation season, we looked at how to overcome jet lag by travel destination and chronotype (morning, middle, evening, etc.).
■A difference of more than 2 hours from the standard time zone drains the biological clock.
When we travel abroad, our biological clock becomes fragile because we travel through several time zones in a short period of time. Experts say we might have no problem acclimatizing to a time zone of about a 2-hour difference. But if there is a time difference of more than 2 hours, our body starts to detect difficulties.
Professor Lee Heon-jeong of the Department of Psychiatry at Korea University Anam Hospital stated, "Especially when there is a time difference of more than 6 hours, the effect on our body is greater." And he added, "when we travel to the east rather than the west, we are more likely to undergo a greater difficulty adjusting." "This is because the time zone of the western destination is slower than the biological clock and the time zone of the eastern destination is faster than the biological clock," he explained.
The most common symptom of jet lag is difficulty falling asleep at night and staying awake during the day. We may also experience decreased motivation and energy, difficulty controlling our mood, and abnormal blood sugar and blood pressure control. Moreover, we possibly have cognitive impairments such as concentration, judgment, and memory.
■Going to bed and waking up early in the east but late in the west helps us adapt better.
Jet lag can be improved in a variety of ways. The best way is to adapt to the local time as soon as possible.
Professor Lee Heon-jeong said, "It can help prevent jet lag by gradually allowing a certain amount of adjusting time before traveling abroad to gradually set the biological clock to the local time. For example, in the east, it is advised to go to bed an hour earlier than usual and to wake up early." She added, "it is a great help for adaptation if you get exposed to strong light for an hour after waking up," he said. In the western destination, you can change your biological clock to the local time more efficiently because you can sleep and wake up later than usual.
Professor Lee Heon-jeong emphasized, "However, the above method is not as easy as it sounds." She advised that additional efforts are needed to adapt to the local time relatively quickly, such as getting enough light during the day while traveling and not taking a nap even if you are sleepy."
