Jet lag, or desynchronosis as it's termed officially, affects most long haul cabin crew and can become cumulative. It is a disruption of the body's internal clock and circadian rhythm and occurs when we fly across multiple time zones.

The science bit

The circadian rhythm cycle is between 24-26 hours, therefore when we travel to the east, it compresses days into a shorter time frame, so during a trip from London to Sydney via Singapore and back, a crew member can lose a couple of days due to the time changes. Traveling westward expands days to better fit the cycle. Therefore, it is considered easier to fly west than east. Jet lag happens when more than three time zones are crossed and mostly on long haul flights.

American Airlines Boeing 777-200
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

The fog

Jet lag brings with it irritability, insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, nausea and gastro-intestinal discomfort. It also lessens attention, affects short-term memory and decision-making skills, and can create a lack of judgment - all of which are crucial for a crew member in a safety-critical environment. Commercial airlines have to schedule rosters accordingly, to limit the effects of jet lag and increase flight safety, so crew can work to their best ability and be able to deal with any emergency.

The problem is that jet lag can be accumulative and constant flying east to west and back again, as we often do, takes its toll. An example of a roster could be a back to back London-Boston-London on minimum rest down route (less than 12 hours), rest overnight and then do the same again, two days off and then London to Tokyo (48 hours off) and then fly back again. And then it might be two or three days off before flying back to the USA.

Studies show that cabin crew have higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) than workers on the ground and long-term disturbed sleep is an issue. Decreased performance and productivity can also be a problem. So we have to be very aware of jet lag (through airline training programs) and what we can do to tackle it or best deal with it.

Lufthansa Airbus A350 landing
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Tips and tricks

Firstly, make the most of any rest time available - it is not always possible to sleep but to get some rest is better than nothing, and make sure you stay thoroughly hydrated and drink lots of water. Once you are at your destination, go straight on to local time and where possible get a full eight hours of sleep at nighttime.

f you need to take a nap, the best time is for between 60 and 90 minutes to reach through all the stages of sleep without causing insomnia and being awake all night at the destination. Some people find exercise helps, whilst adjusting to daylight or the darkness of night can work wonders.

Recovery

Regular passengers who might not fly as frequently as cabin crew do will usually recover in around 48 hours, but symptoms may linger for one or two weeks. In general, it takes one to one and a half days per time zone crossed for the body to recover. Imagine what that means for long-haul cabin crew, in that we inherently never really recover from jet lag - we just add to it - but we try to manage it the best we can.