New Jet Lag Remedy Getting Ready for Take-off
Common Sense Steps Also Help Fatigued Travelers
Oct 1, 2009
The drug maker Cephalon announced the FDA gave a priority review to the company’s drug Nuvigil for an expanded use: improving alertness in patients with excessive sleepiness as a result of jet lag disorder. The decision comes on the heels of late-stage clinical test results from a study of 427 travelers who flew from the United States to Europe and were then treated with the drug, the company said in a press release.
The travelers in the study experienced symptoms of jet lag during five previous years, and were examined over three days after traveling east from the United States to France. The chief medical officer at Cephalon commented that “we discovered that those on placebo were as excessively sleepy as narcoleptics and that the treatment effect for those on Nuvigil was the largest we have seen to date.”
Sleep Disorders
The company said that if approved, possibly by December 2009, the drug would represent the first treatment for jet lag disorder to be approved in the United States, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. That would be good news for the approximately 70 million travelers who annually suffer from the condition, which is defined as an acute circadian rhythm sleep disorder resulting from rapid travel covering several time zones.
Symptoms of the disorder include disorientation, lack of concentration, feelings of irrationality or unreasonableness, fatigue and dehydration. They can become overwhelmed by what they see as the tediousness of air travel.
Alternative Medicines
While most sufferers will have to wait for the FDA to makes its decision, there are conventional remedies for jet lag that claim varying degrees of success, including homeopathic pills, green tea and Valerian, an herb that is mixed with water before bedtime. Some people report that Valerian helps them wake up feeling refreshed.
Melatonin, the hormone regulating sleep cycles, can also help travelers fall asleep in new, unfamiliar locations. To get one’s internal body clock back in sync, take it about 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime, the Mayo Clinic Web site recommends.
Other advice includes getting as much sun and daylight as possible right after you land or the following morning. Also, avoid naps, or if that’s impossible take short ones. Don’t get to the point of staying up late into the night and sleeping during daylight.
Air Sicknesses, Hydration and Exercise
Some medical professionals also recommend staying hydrated, avoiding coffee and caffeinated teas, and getting adequate exercise during your trip. Drinking water before the plane trip can reduce the effects of being in airline cabins, which can be a drain on body moisture.
Economic worries and more mobile societies have increased the incidence of sleep disorders such as jet lag. Sufferers, however, have no shortage of remedies to try, including simple preventative techniques, alternative medicines and a potential treatment from a major pharmaceutical company.
(Maintain your health by steering clear of swine flu.)
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