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Can’t wait to rediscover New York? Lazing around on a paradise beach in Mauritius? For this, your flight will cross several meridians, with a direct consequence: breaking the biological clock and putting the body’s adaptive capacities to the test. How to best manage jet lag or jet lag? The goal: to avoid the days wasted dozing, to be on the attack from the first days of the trip or business trip and, on your return, to be in good shape to resume your daily routine.

So what to do before, during and after the trip? Let’s explore the meanders of our circadian cycle to tame it, and deal with jet lag by anticipating it before departure, by remedying it after arrival.

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What is jet lag?

It is the difference in legal time between two places on the globe located in different time zones. A time zone is an area of ​​the earth’s surface where all points observe the same time. The Earth is divided into 24 time zones, 24 bands of land corresponding to the 24 hours of a day.

The reference time zone is GMT time zone (Greenwich Mean Time, Greenwich Mean Time), based on the Greenwich meridian. Then was created the UTC (Universal Time Coordinate, Coordinated Universal Time), a time scale used to establish civil time. The difference between the two is minimal. Established on the Earth’s rotation, GMT time is the mean solar time at the meridian of Greenwich. As for UTCit is a time standard based on international atomic time.

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What is the time difference in Europe?

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Metropolitan France is located in the UTC +1 (winter time) or UTC +2 (summer time) time zone. It is on the same time zone as Spain, Italy or Germany.

On the other hand, it is 1 hour ahead of Great Britain. London is on UTC +0 (winter) or UTC +1 (summer). Time changes taking place at the same time in Paris and London, London time is 1 hour behind Paris all year round.

What is the time difference between France and the Americas?

The American continent is located on the UTC -3 (Brasilia) to UTC -7 or 8 in California, and UTC -8 or 9 in Alaska time zones. The United States is between UTC -4 or -5 (Eastern Time Zone) and UTC -7 or -8 (Pacific Time Zone). It is therefore 6 hours less than in France on Eastern Time (New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Montreal), 7 hours less on Central Time (Chicago/Illinois, Iowa, Alabama, Texas), 8 hours less on Mountain Time (Rockies, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico), 9h less on Pacific Time (Nevada, California, Oregon).

Brazil is divided into 3 time zones. Compared to France, the Atlantic coast of Brazil is 4 hours behind (during our winter) or 5 hours behind (during our summer) (Brasilia and São Paulo). And the northwest of Brazil is 5 hours behind (during our winter) or 6 hours behind (during our summer).

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What is the time difference between France, Africa and the Middle East?

Compared to France, depending on the season, Africa is 1 hour ahead (during our summer) or 2 hours ahead (during our winter) with Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and 1 hour behind ( during our winter) or 2 hours late (during our summer) with Senegal and the West of the continent.

The Middle East is at least 1 hour ahead of France (Jordan, summer and winter), and up to 2 hours ahead (in summer) or even 3 hours ahead ( in winter) (Dubai and United Arab Emirates, Oman). Iran is 1h30 ahead (in summer) or 2h30 ahead (in winter).

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What is the time difference between France, Asia and Oceania?

Compared to France, depending on the season, Asia is between 3h30 ahead (in summer) or 4h30 ahead (in winter) (India), and 7h (in summer) or 8h (in winter) d advance (Japan, South Korea) .

Compared to France, depending on the season, Oceania has, for Western Australia, 6 hours ahead (during our summer) or 7 hours ahead (during our winter) (Western Australia), and for the east of the continent, from 10h (during our summer) to 12h (during our winter) in advance (New Zealand).

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What are the symptoms of jet lag?

A privilege of long-distance travellers, jet lag is the first experience of travel. The rapid crossing of time zones gives rise, when disembarking at other longitudes, to symptoms linked to the disruption of our internal biological clock. It is actually the whole day-night rhythm that is affected, what is called the circadian rhythm. This 24-hour biological rhythm regulates our internal clock, and affects multiple functions in the body, primarily sleep.

As a result, jet lag gives rise to various sleep disorders:

• Fatigue, drowsiness, and conversely, difficulty falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and insomnia
• Loss of appetite, or gastrointestinal disturbances, although these are also attributable to return, changes in food and water while traveling
• During a long-haul flight, we can observe metabolic disorders, such as water retention due to altitude and prolonged sitting.
• Finally, jet lag can be the cause of cognitive disorders: concentration disorders, loss of attention or reduced alertness, mood disorders and irritability, etc.

To help passengers limit these inconveniences, airlines do everything to spare the internal clock. It is mainly governed by external factors and stimuli: light, temperature, times and composition of meals, physical activity… On board long-haul flights, the lights are therefore switched off for a period of time to encourage sleep, and the hours and contents of the meals are chosen to facilitate the transition between the two time zones.

But the path has its pitfalls. Certain factors can aggravate the symptoms: lack of sleep and fatigue before departure, dehydration, stress, or being an “early bed” or needing a lot of sleep. Similarly, genetic factors can have an impact, as well as age (the older you get, the more complicated adaptation is), and, in general, each person’s ability to adapt.

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How to anticipate jet lag before departure?

Before the trip, a little preparation is recommended. And afterwards, a period of adaptation is necessarily necessary.

In the days before departure, get enough rest, and try to put in place a sleep strategy. Gradually shift your bedtime and wake-up times, so as to tend towards the destination time. If you are traveling east, go to bed 1 or 2 hours earlier the day before departure. If you are traveling West, go to bed 1 or 2 hours later. The immutable golden rule applies here as in all circumstances: make sure you eat balanced meals and have good hydration; in a word: a healthy lifestyle.

How to deal with jet lag during the flight?

From the outset, set your watch to the arrival time, and try to eat at the meal times of the arrival destination. Favor light meals that are low in fat (so as not to put too much strain on the digestive system) but sufficiently rich in fiber (to prevent constipation), increase the sources of protein (to maintain muscle mass), favor Omega 3 with the effects anti-inflammatories (to regulate the circadian rhythm and prevent cognitive impairment). Make sure you are well hydrated (to avoid dehydration due to dry air in the cabin), avoiding exciting drinks (coffee, tea, alcohol and soft drinks).

Sleep as much as possible, if necessary with a mask and earplugs, but also move around in the device to fight against water retention. Melatonin can help to fall asleep and regain regularity in sleep rhythms, but its effectiveness is considered uncertain, and the subject is controversial. Also beware of sleeping pills, which cause drowsiness.

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How to recover from jet lag after arrival?

Pick up the pace right away. Set yourself up to local time right away, both in terms of sleep and food. If you arrive early in the morning or during the day, expose yourself to natural light. Adopt local meal times, and avoid naps, real pitfalls that slow down the synchronization of the internal clock and delay adaptation. The first 24 hours, limit physical activity.

If you’re traveling to America and arrive in the evening, delay bedtime by staying active and exposing yourself to light. At dinner, increase carbohydrates to promote sleep. If you are traveling to Asia and arrive early in the morning, have a breakfast in the sun, why not an exciting one for breakfast (tea or coffee); if you arrive at the end of the day, limit the duration of exposure to the sun. Before bed, take a cold shower (to reduce body temperature and stimulate sleep).

How long does it take to recover from jet lag?

NASA estimates that to regain its normal rhythm and fully recover, the body needs one day of adaptation per hour of time zone. In the case of a trip west, the days are “just” longer; it is actually necessary to count one day per hour of jet lag. But for a trip to the Orient, there are then “missing” hours, in this case hours of sleep engulfed in jet lag; it is then rather necessary to count a day and a half per hour of jet lag.

In the event of a deadline or a professional meeting, plan a few days to adapt on arrival before the D-Day. For a stay of less than 3 days, on the other hand, we advise not to try to adapt.

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