Passengers of the longest flight in the world have tested ways to deal with jetlag

It sounds crazy, but scientists believe that the Macarena dance helps to overcome the jetlag. This statement was verified during a record 20-hour flight from New York (USA) to Sydney (Australia). Writes about this New York Post.

Фото: Depositphotos

So can the Macarena help overcome the jetlag at an altitude of 35 000 feet (10,6 km)? Passengers checked it the longest non-stop flight in history.

While the goal of the record flight was to complete the 19-hour, 16-minute journey on a commercial flight in one day, this particular flight was also intended for research purposes to see the effects of such a long journey on passengers, pilots and crew. .

Not only the duration of the flight was taken into account, but also the time difference between New York and Sydney. The time difference is as much as 15 hours, which can cause travelers terrible jet lag, fatigue, sleep problems, irritability and even stomach problems.

So when 49 passengers boarded the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the evening of Friday 18 October at 21pm, they were immediately transferred to Sydney's time zone - around Saturday lunchtime - to see if they could beat the jetlag.

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Some methods used to keep people awake were quite simple, for example, keeping the lights on for about eight hours.

Others were weirder.

After take-off, passengers received a spicy lunch so as not to fall asleep. After a few hours, all the participants in the flight together did exercises. A sThen, a few hours later, they danced the Macarena.

Marie Carroll, a lead researcher on this flight, says some of these actions were designed to make everyone feel cheerful.

“Since we're flying west, we need to delay bedtime,” she says.

This is the logic, says Rebecca Salbu, a pharmacist consultant who has studied current and potential pharmacotherapy methods when changing time zones.

“The Macarena can be a great way to get people to exercise, stay awake and be interested in physical activity rather than just walking down the aisles of an airplane,” she says. “As a bonus, any type of physical activity is beneficial for reducing the risk of blood clots that can form as a result of prolonged sitting.”

According to Salbu, eating spicy foods also has some logic, although the disadvantages of such actions may outweigh the benefits.

“You shouldn't eat spicy food before bed. Yes, it will help you stay awake, she says. “But later, an upset stomach is not a very good result.”

Of all the experiments, keeping the lights on was probably the best idea.

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"Spicy foods, exercise and dancing don't do anything for jet lag, but they do help people stay awake," says Mickey Beyer-Clausen, CEO of the jet lag app Timeshifter.

Both Salbu and Bayer-Klausen say there are other ways to deal with jet lag, especially when traveling through several time zones at a time. Beier-Clausen recommends taking low doses of caffeine to maintain vigor. Salbu's biggest recommendation is to avoid alcohol on the plane.

“Many people think that drinking alcohol during a flight will help them sleep,” she says. “Alcohol can actually reduce the quality of your sleep and can end up causing even more damage to your body when you land.”

Salbu added that the experiment with light also has its own nuances. When you turn off the light, you need to make sure that all other light sources are also turned off, and then you can safely fall asleep.

“No devices, no music—just sleep masks, noise-canceling headphones, that’s it,” she says.

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