Air travellers’ experiences and understanding of jetlag and perceptions of management strategies: a qualitative study

Abstract

Jetlag is largely self-managed by the individual traveller. This paper explores the lived experiences of air travellers, their understanding of jetlag, and their perceptions of management strategies. 32 international travellers (mean age = 31, SD: 15 years; 47% female, mean flight duration = 16, SD: 6 hours) were interviewed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Framework Approach. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed three emergent themes: Travel beliefs and experiences, Impact of jetlag, and Approaches to jetlag management. Participants’ experience of jetlag was described in terms of the entire journey with no distinction made between circadian disruption and travel fatigue. Management strategies revolved around needs for comfort and avoiding fatigue, and were mostly guided by somatic symptom cues, prior travel experiences, or the experiential advice from others. Our findings highlight the need for traveller involvement in co-designing evidence-based interventions for jetlag to enhance their transferability into the real world.

Practitioner summary

Qualitative findings highlighted jetlag as encapsulating the entire journey, and not limited to post-flight circadian disruptions during international travel. Jetlag management interventions need to address issues of circadian misalignment together with travel fatigue and in-flight discomfort through behavioural and nutritional strategies. Travel context and environmental factors such as airport facilities also influenced perceived jetlag severity.

Keywords:

• Jetlag
• qualitative study
• travel fatigue
• long-haul flights
• health behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.