ABSTRACT

Jetlag and travel fatigue can impair functioning, but it is unknown what strategies are used by travelers to minimize these consequences. Passengers on Qantas Airways flights were invited to take part in online surveys. Long-haul flights of ≥8 h into and out of Australia were targeted, which involved time differences of 1 to 18 h between the origin and destination. Passengers were queried about the use of travel booking choices before the flight, and the use of behavioral strategies before, during, and after flight for reducing jetlag and travel fatigue. Surveys were completed by N = 460 passengers aged 18 to 78 (43% male; mean age 50 y). Selecting a seat location (59%) and choosing a direct flight (52%) were the most common booking strategies. Almost all (99%) employed specific behavioral strategies during flight, with fewer implementing strategies before flight (73%) and after flight (89%). During the journey, 81% consumed or avoided caffeine and alcohol, 68% altered food intake, 68% used comfort/relaxation strategies, 53% light exposure, 35% physical activity, 31% compression stockings, 15% pharmaceutical sleep aids, and 8% melatonin. Surprisingly, only 1 of 460 passengers reported using a jetlag app. Younger travelers were more likely to adopt any strategy before the flight than older travelers (χ ² ₂ = 14.90, p =.01), while female travelers appeared more likely than male travelers to use strategies before (77% vs. 68%) and after flight (91% vs. 85%). Reason for travel, flight cabin, leg of journey, and country of residence were not significantly associated with the use of behavioral strategies. Nearly all passengers took measures to improve the experience and consequences of long-haul flying. The results suggest that interventions around food/drink and physical activity may be highly acceptable to passengers for mitigating travel fatigue and that greater public education on evidence-based strategies may be helpful for reducing travel fatigue and jetlag.

摘要

时差和旅行疲劳会损害机能，但未知旅行者使用什么策略来最大程度地减少这些后果。澳航航班上的乘客被邀请参加在线调查。进出澳大利亚≥8小时的长途飞行是针对性的，这涉及始发地与目的地之间的1到18小时的时差。向乘客询问了在飞行前使用旅行预订选项以及在飞行前，飞行中和飞行后使用行为策略以减少时差和旅行疲劳的问题。N = 460名年龄在18至78岁之间的乘客（男性43％；平均年龄50岁）完成了调查。最常见的预订策略是选择座位位置（59％）和直接航班（52％）。几乎所有（99％）的飞行员在飞行过程中都采用了特定的行为策略，飞行前（73％）和飞行后（89％）的实施策略较少。在旅途中，有81％消耗或避免了咖啡因和酒精，68％的食物摄入量减少，68％使用了舒适/放松策略，53％的光照，35％的体育锻炼，31％的压力袜，15％的药物助眠剂和8 ％褪黑激素。令人惊讶的是，460名乘客中只有1名报告使用时差应用程序。年轻旅客比老年旅客更有可能采取任何策略（χ² ₂  = 14.90，p = .01），而女性旅行者在乘机前（77％对68％）和乘机后（91％对85％）使用策略的可能性要大于男性旅行者。出行原因，机舱，旅程行程和居住国家与行为策略的使用没有显着相关。几乎所有乘客都采取了措施，以改善长途飞行的体验和后果。结果表明，围绕食物/饮料和体育锻炼的干预措施对于缓解旅行疲劳可能是乘客高度可接受的，而对基于证据的策略进行更多的公众教育可能有助于减少旅行疲劳和时差。