It is a very popular sleep deficiency syndrome and ranks second in popularity. It affects people who have international flights and more so when the flight crosses different time zones. It is termed as the process of throwing the body's synchronization with the time off, especially when it is done in international levels because an complete day is thrown off or gained when you travel from Los Angeles to Sydney or Tokyo or Newyork to London because almost a whole day is lost or gained as international date line is crossed by you which is a day ahead or behind.

Also, from studies, it is shown that women are affected more by this than men and reports say that this is because of the hormone estrogen, which is set off because of the exposure of body to normal day and night time rhythms, which upsets the rhythm in which the body responds to the normal reaction to that particular time of the day and this may cause a disturbance in your eating habits also. It may take some time from a few days to even weeks so that your body synchronizes itself with the time zone in which you are present as it can do so only when you sleep.

Jet lag shows different symptoms in different people. The symptoms of a jet lag may be a dehydration, minor disorientations, headaches, loss of appetite, fatigue, sinus irritations, nauseas, grogginess, upset stomach, vomiting, mild depression and irritability. The jet lag depends, not on the distance travelled, but on the transmeridian distance that is travelled. For instance, if you take a flight from Newyork to Losangeles, you may have to travel for 5 hours and because of crossing the time zone between the mountains, a small jetlag will be felt. However, the jet lag experienced in places like Russia and Alaska are extremes. Alaska sees very little day time and Russia has about 11 time zones. So in case someone flies from Tokyo to Copenhagen, the jet lag could disorient them for quite some time.

Many people who are sensitive to time zones are administered sedatives by their physicians so that they can sleep through their flight and when they reach their destination, they may be able to wake up normally, without being affected by the jet lag.

Some of the healthy practices to be maintained for recovering easily from a jet lag are proper exercise, nutrition and sleep. You may be astounded to see the amount of difficulty that is faced by people who do not sleep properly and when the disorientation due to time lag sets in. Many doctors say that to synchronize your body's clock with the time, sunlight will be very helpful.

Jet lag is a severe thing and its severity cannot be easily pointed specifically. Different people are affected in different ways and people who constantly travel across time zones will all have become immune to the jet lag and they manage to change their body's time according to the requirement of the situation. However, more than tourists, they are the ones who face the brunt of the time lag syndrome.

Business travelers travel at unusual times and they can throw a normal person off as they are flying very early or may even catch a red eye to reach the next day.