Missionary
Medical
Moment
A brief summary of a current topic of medical interest to missionaries.
Topics are updated frequently; if you have a topic or question, let us know!
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MISSIONARY MEDICAL MOMENT
Jet Lag
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"...There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven...""
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| Ecclesiastes 3:1 |
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The first week on the new mission field...a time of excitement,
enthusiasm, new relationships...right? The first day of the
long-awaited furlough trip home...reunion with family, friends,
a chance to catch up on sleep...correct?
What many missionaries experience in either of these situations
is not excitement and enthusiasm...rather they feel worn out,
tired, unmotivated, even irritable and overly sensitive.
Concentration is difficult, "fuzzy thinking" occurs even to
the point of disorientation, and problems appear with any
activity requiring effort or skill. Spells of intense sleepiness
during the day contrast with frequent awakenings and broken
sleep at night.
These are all symptoms of "jet lag", the physical and emotional
consequences of disturbances in our natural biological clock
induced by traveling quickly over more than three time zones.
There are several factors which contribute to jet lag: eastbound
travel is usually more stressful than westbound, exhaustion and
stress preceding travel makes jet lag more likely, and dehydration
from an extremely dry airplane cabin environment worsens the
symptoms.
Even our personalities may contribute; people who are more
adaptable to unexpected events will fare better, and young
children seem to have little if any difficulty.
The symptoms of jet lag may last for days, although it is
thought that the internal body "clock" shifts to reset the
body rhythm at a rate of about 1 hour/day at destination
(for instance, if you fly to a location 8 time zones east
("ahead") of the original location, it may take as many as
8 days for your body clock to adjust to the new location).
Seeking or avoiding bright light (depending on which direction
one travels) at certain times of the day can speed up the
adaptation, but may be difficult under travel circumstances.
The use of prescription sleeping medication can cause hangover
effects and amnesia.
The naturally occurring substance melatonin has an effect on
the rhythm of our internal body clock, and has been recommended
as a safe approach to decrease the intensity and duration of
jet lag. Melatonin can be purchased without prescription at
most pharmacy and health stores; while there is some controversy
about the dose, the majority of experts suggest that only small
doses are needed.
Tablets are available as 0.3 (three tenths) mgm or 0.5 (five
tenths) mgm, which may be written as 300 mcg or 500 mcg, and
should not be confused with 3 or 5 (three and five) mgm tablets,
which are also available. If melatonin is used to induce
sleep at bedtime, doses of 1-5 mgm have been recommended, but
much smaller doses are used in the prevention and treatment of
jet lag.
Side effects are usually not experienced, particularly at lower
doses. The treatment guidelines for jet lag: take 0.3-0.5 mgm
of melatonin on the day before and the day of travel, at 2-3 PM
if going east, or on arising if going west. Once at your
destination, take the same amount at the same time, converted to
local time (for instance, if you took a dose at 3 PM on the day
of departure for a country 7 time zones east, then the first day
in the new country you would take the dose at 3 + 7 = 10 PM).
Then on subsequent days, take the dose one hour earlier each day
until reaching 3 PM local time (or take the dose one hour later
each day if traveling west). This will speed up the time it
takes the body to readjust to the new location. If possible at
your destination, seek bright light early in the day when traveling
east, or in the evening when traveling west.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol while traveling, and make every effort
to drink large amounts of water while on the airplane.
Locations may change, sleep patterns may vary, but there is
One who is always the same: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today, and forever. To those who know Him, wherever they may
be, they, like the psalmist can say, "Thou dost know when I
sit down and when I rise up...when I awake, I am still with
Thee.."
(Ps 139:2,18)
View Other Missionary Medical Moments
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