Life Hack: How to deal with travel fatigue - and how to tell it apart from jet lag
Travel fatigue is identified as a distinct condition from jet lag, caused by the cumulative stress of travel rather than time zone changes. Experts explain that factors like dehydration, disrupted routines, and airport stress can impact the nervous system even on short-haul trips.
Why it matters
Provides practical health advice for travelers, helping them distinguish between different types of exhaustion to better manage their well-being.
Travel fatigue is different to jet lag as it is not always caused by the travel itself. File picture
The summer holiday season is in full swing, and it is likely we could see record-breaking numbers of passengers travelling through Dublin and Cork airports over the coming weeks.
With those higher numbers comes more of a chance that Irish travellers who opt for destinations closer to home may experience travel fatigue — and mistake it for the jet lag usually associated with long-haul flights.
Jet lag happens when your normal sleep pattern is disturbed after a long flight. The main symptoms of jet lag include difficulty sleeping at bedtime and waking up in the morning, tiredness and exhaustion, difficulty staying awake during the day, and concentration and memory problems.
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