A Flight Attendant’s Jet Lag Survival Guide

The summer I turned 19, having dropped out of college amid some personal upheaval, I decided to apply to be a flight attendant. I wanted to get out into the world, meet interesting people, and gaze at the ocean from the other side.  I quickly realized being a flight attendant is a very difficult and physically taxing job. I started working at JMC Airlines, a now-shuttered short-haul carrier. In a regular shift, I would travel through 2 to 3 time zones and experience two takeoffs and two landings, traveling from my home in the U.K. to European destinations as varied as Tenerife in the Canary Islands and Salzburg in Austria. My ankles would swell and my tummy would expand with a heavy dose of gas and bloating. But most notably, my internal body clock was all over the place. Returning home to my shared house near the airport at 3 a.m., I wouldn’t know whether to fix myself a late dinner, an early breakfast or just go straight to bed. This isn’t a surprise to anyone who travels regularly: When we travel our natural circadian levels are interrupted, and this can make us feel irritable and restless during sleep times and sleepy during daylight hours.  For flight crews, this is more than an inconvenience, it’s an occupational hazard. Chronic jet lag can increase your risk of disease later in life, from cancer risks to cognitive decline. In the short term, it can mess with your memory and mental function. After one particularly long night, I almo...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news