Having jetlag is a horrible way to start or end travel. Your body is used to living in a certain time zone and suddenly it’s thrown into a time of day that’s 2, 3 or even upwards of 14 or 15 hours ahead or behind. Your sleep is ruined and your body just goes into a tizzy.
Most people who travel have a “secret method” to combat jetlag. It might be trying to gradually get closer to the time zone you’re going to be in, before you get there. Some say that if you’re traveling east, to take a nap as soon as you arrive. Others suggest exercising is the way to get your personal clock on course. But despite all these “foolproof methods,” the general rule of thumb is that it takes almost a day for every time zone you cross to overcome jet lag.
If any airline should be interested in jetlag, it’s Qantas. Situated in Australia, in the far south Pacific, travel to and from nearly all countries takes multiple hours, and for a good portion of them, you’re also looking at multiple hours of time zone changes as well.
Because of its upcoming ultra-long-haul flights from New York and London into Sydney (those are the flights that’ll offer lounges to Economy class passengers), Qantas wanted to see if and how they could change inflight routines to reduce jet lag. So, in partnership with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre they did a years-long study, using volunteers during three Project Sunrise research flights from New York and London to Sydney in 2019.
They had 23 volunteers on these non-stop flights. Each wore biometric monitors and kept logs of how they felt for the week before, during, and for two weeks after the flight.
The results of the study haven’t yet been published. However the discovery was that adjustments in lighting, tailored sleep and dining schedules, and meals with specific ingredients all helped to significantly improve (read: decrease) passengers’ jet lag. Interestingly, foods that tend to encourage wakefulness or sleep, including chili and chocolate, were found to be especially helpful.
All told, the study subjects on the flights with the tailored in-flight schedule reported better sleep quality on the flight and less severe jet lag upon arrival. They also said they had better cognitive performance in the two days after the flight.
A major part of the adjusted schedule was timing the in-flight meal service to align with the volunteers’ internal body clocks. They also served dishes that promoted the brain’s production of tryptophan (an amino acid that’s linked to sleepiness). These dishes included “fish and chicken paired with fast-acting carbohydrates, as well as comfort foods like soups and milk-based desserts,” the airline said.
The study also included custom cabin lighting schedules that were designed to help passengers adapt to the time zone in their destination. However they also included stretches and movement activities into the volunteers’ schedules (these flights’ new onboard lounges will be perfect for such activities).
“The early findings have given us optimism that we can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of international travelers, thanks to this partnership with Qantas,” said Peter Cistulli, professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney, which helped the airline with the study. “We have a multi-disciplinary team of more than 10 researchers from medicine, science, and engineering backgrounds working together on this project. This includes sleep researchers, circadian experts, nutrition and movement experts. No airline has ever done this kind of research before.”
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the national carrier was excited by the prospect of minimalizing jetlag and revolutionizing international flying for all travelers.
“Given our geography, Qantas has a long history of using imagination and innovation to overcome the tyranny of distance between Australia and the rest of the world,” said Mr Joyce.
Feature Photo: Qantas/Instagram
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