Jet lag? Try time, light and melatonin

Jet lag is the curse of the well-traveled. Is there any way to avoid it?

People have tried everything: fasting, drinking water, naps, herbal remedies, Valium, Ambien, Dramamine, watches that automatically change time zones, special diets, exercise and strange preflight bedtimes.

None of those things hurt, but there are only three things proven to help, according to experts: time, light and maybe the hormone melatonin.

That's because your body takes about one day to adjust its circadian rhythm, an internal biological clock, for every time zone you cross, says sleep researcher Christopher Drake.

"The more time zones you cross, the more difficult it is," says Drake, a senior staff psychologist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "You are trying to match your body clock with your body processes."

Normally, stable hormones and other physical cues tell your body when it's day and night. But when you travel three hours or more east or west, your body gets confused.

The primary symptoms of jet lag are daytime grogginess and nighttime wakefulness.

Most travelers adjust more easily when traveling west. "Our bodies more easily delay sleep," says Drake. "We can go to bed later more easily than go to bed early. But there are individual differences."

People who have a chronic sleep debt may do better at falling asleep on trips and avoiding jet lag, Drake says. Young people also may adjust faster than older travelers to time changes.

If you are traveling for only a few days, it might be better to stay on your home time.

What about sleeping pills? Yes, Drake says, they can work in the short term on the airplane or to help you fall asleep when your body still thinks it is daytime. But don't use over-the-counter sleeping pills; they may last up to 10 hours and make you groggy. Talk to your doctor about a more short-acting medication.

What about melatonin? The hormone associated with sleep is not a sleeping pill. It's a chronobiotic that helps readjust your body's night-day time clock. "Melatonin minimizes the effect that light has on our circadian rhythm, but it can also be a soporific," Drake says.

Some swear by homeopathic remedies such as No-Jet-Lag pills. If they work for you, go for it. Anything to help you sleep ...