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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Factors that increase the likelihood you'll experience jet lag include:

  • Number of time zones crossed. The more time zones you cross, the more likely you are to be jet-lagged.
  • Flying east. You may find it harder to fly east, when you "lose" time, than to fly west, when you gain it back.
  • Being a frequent flyer. Pilots, flight attendants and business travelers are most likely to experience jet lag.
  • Being an older adult. Older adults may need more time to recover from jet lag than do younger adults.
Complications Causes
References
  1. Herxheimer A. Jet lag. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 24, 2012.
  2. Kolla BP, et al. Jet lag and shift work sleep disorders: How to help reset the internal clock. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2011;78:675.
  3. Morgenthaler TI, et al. Practice parameters for the clinical evaluation and treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Sleep. 2007;30:1445.
  4. Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
  5. Jet lag. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. http://yoursleep.aasmnet.org/Disorder.aspx?id=9. Accessed Oct. 24, 2012.
  6. Sack RL. Jet lag. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2010;362:440.
  7. Auger RR, et al. Jet lag and other sleep disorders relevant to the traveler. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2009;7:60.
  8. Sleep disorders and CAM: At a glance. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/sleep/ataglance.htm. Accessed Nov. 7, 2012.
  9. Morgenthaler TI (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 30, 2012.
DS01085 Jan. 5, 2013

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