Le syndrome de décalage horaire ou Jet-lag Aspects pratiques

This article puts an emphasis on the phenomenon of jet lag. The principle symptoms are described as well as the engendering factors, the individual factors and the working patterns of sleep. Treatments have scarcely developed for 15 years : it is necessary to find a good strategy in relation to the time change the individual's activity and their personality. Sleeping aids can help to avoid the sleep debt particularly on flights towards the East. Caffeine is useful to improve the alertness during the daytime. The light therapy (bright light) is still insufficiently used and should be made better known to the general public. Melatonin has not been recommended up to the present because it has not been sanctioned and remains prohibited in Europe. This has done as it was not sufficiently pure, there is no slow-release pils and pharmacological studies on his effects and his toxicity had not yet been determined. An agonist of melatonin is in the advanced development stage and could be available in short time. Its arrival and greater information on the bright light could contribute to the performance of travelers in the first days after a transmeridian flight.