Global Courant
From popping melatonin to make fists with your toespassengers have long employed strategies to counteract the negative effects of air travel.
But airlines may also play a role, according to new research from Qantas and the Charles Perkins Center at the University of Sydney.
The research is part of Qantas’ Project sunrise program, which plans to connect Sydney to New York City and London via non-stop flights by 2025.
Qantas says that while it can fly the 20-hour flights, it is studying ways – from lighting schedules to eating spicy foods – to make the journey less grueling for passengers and crew.
The research
According to preliminary results released in mid-June, researchers used volunteer passengers on three test flights to analyze ways to reduce jet lag, including:
Customizing cabin lighting and meal schedules Offering special food and drink menus containing chilli, chocolate and ingredients known to produce sleep-inducing tryptophan Performing stretches and exercises on board
Volunteers were monitored during the flight using wearable tech devices and their reaction times were measured through online tests, the official said. press release. They also kept a daily health log before, during and for two weeks after test flights, it said.
The report concluded that, compared to other passengers, the volunteers “experienced less severe jet lag (self-reported), better sleep quality during the flight (and) better cognitive performance in the two days after the flight.”
Flight volunteers reported that their jet lag was not as severe and ended one to two days earlier than expected, according to a study summary released last week.
David Gray | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“Light exposure is critical to reducing jet lag,” he said Svetlana Postnovawho studies sleep-wake cycles and circadian rhythms at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre.
The flight departed New York City at 9 p.m. and investigators kept the lights on for another six hours, she told CNBC.
The lights went out at about 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and the cabin remained dark for 11 hours before turning back on for the last two hours of the flight, she said.
That was done “to push the body clocks to the destination time zone,” she said.
Arrange dinner
Meals were timed for the lighting, Postnova said, noting that they were served after takeoff, before the lights went out and before they arrived.
But the first meal wasn’t dinner — it was lunch, said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.
“Night flights usually start with dinner and then the lights go out. For this flight, we started with lunch and kept the lights on for the first six hours, matching the time of day at our destination. It means you start right away with reducing jet lag,” he said in a statement after the first test flight was performed.
Qantas also monitored the brain waves, melatonin levels and alertness of pilots flying the 20-hour test flights.
James D Morgan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Research into the brightness and hue of cabin lighting is planned for later this year and more research is needed into departure and arrival times and seasonal differences, Qantas and the University of Sydney said.
Findings from the test flights have not been published, but Peter Cistulli, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney, called the initial results “promising”.
For now, Postnova said, travelers shouldn’t wait until they land to combat jet lag, but they should start the process as soon as their flight departs.
A ‘well-being zone’ on board
The jet lag study is being conducted as Qantas waits for 12 Airbus 350 aircraft it ordered in May 2022. Delivery is expected to begin in late 2025, with the New York-Sydney route coming soon after, according to the press release.
Joyce said the new non-stop flights will cut travel time between New York and London to Sydney by about three hours.
Passengers exercise during a Qantas test flight from New York to Sydney on October 19, 2019. Flyers will be able to do so in an onboard “Wellbeing Zone” once the airline’s new Airbus 350s are delivered.
James D Morgan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The new Airbus fleet will also have an “onboard”.Well-being zonewhere passengers can stretch and do simple exercises.
“Our A350s will have about 100 fewer seats than most of our competitors, giving us room for more room in all classes and a wellness zone for Premium Economy and Economy passengers to stretch out,” said Joyce.
As for what passengers do on the flights, which will likely be the longest commercial flights in the world, Joyce said, “People can choose how they spend their time, but we will make recommendations based on science.”
