Circadian rhythms are basically body cycles that we all have. These are generally in accordance with the day and night patterns that our senses perceive. The body cycle that we have is also a 24 hour cycle that takes into account waking, sleeping, digestion patterns, bowel movements, hormone discharge, temperature regulation and blood pressure trends. The body clock also regulates when you feel hungry, thirsty or sleepy. It gets affected by the amount of light that you see since the body gets used to the fact that when it is time to sleep it becomes dark and when it is daylight or time to wake up. If there is a disruption of the body clock, it causes various symptoms like irritability, insomnia, indigestion and more. This is mainly due to the discomfort that the body feels when the normal body pattern is disturbed. The body clock can be disturbed due to various reasons.

One common circadian rhythm disorder is caused when one travels long distances in the east-west direction. It is said that crossing over a couple of time zones does not cause any disruption in the body schedules. But if you travel for more than that distance some symptoms are likely to arise. The speed at which one can cope up with these changes also varies across people. While some are able to cope up with this change in time zone extremely easily there are others that take more than a week to really adjust. The symptoms caused due to a rhythm upset also vary across individuals and while some get up in the middle of the night others tend to have difficulty in bowel movements.

The most common symptom that occurs due to international travel is circadian rhythm sleep disorder. This causes the maximum trouble to corporate travelers who need to attend meetings the very same day or the next day after reaching their destination. Those who can cope with this situation manage to remain attentive but others may be found dropping off in conferences and meetings.

The issues caused by a disruption in the circadian rhythm can be prevented to a large extent if you know the things to do to avoid discomfort. It is said that avoiding the alcohol that is served free of cost in international flights should be avoided, as should be caffeine. Drinking a lot of water helps. Regulating sleep while on the flight also helps jet lag.

The issues caused due to international travel across time zones are temporary in nature and solve themselves after a few days. There are now ways also like the light box and melatonin that have been developed that help in the regulation of the circadian rhythms so that one does not face too much trouble when travelling across multiple time zones.