Can this app cure jet lag?
Thomas Page, for CNN • Published 19th June 2015
(CNN) — We've all been there: wide awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, body clock exacting revenge for being forced to fly long haul.
Jet lag is the bane of the frequent flier, but what's the travel cure?
Some swear by sleeping tablets, others by booze and others, for reasons that aren't exactly clear, by sex pills.
Now there's another option that doesn't risk blackouts, hangovers or that thing that Viagra does.
Aviation industry body IATA -- The International Air Transport Association -- has come up with an app called SkyZen.
This works in conjunction with a fitness wristband to monitor passengers' activity and sleeping patterns (or lack of sleep patterns) while in the air, offering tips and a strategy to combat the onset of jet lag.
Users input their flight number, date and class of travel and SkyZen constructs a regimen to follow pre-, during and post-flight.
Chicken or fish?
The app records users' health before, during and after taking to the skies
courtesy SkyZen
As well as advising passengers when to sleep, Skyzen uses heath data from the wristband to suggest when and what to eat.
Its aim is to reduce the extent to which the circadian rhythm, our natural 24 hour body clock, is interrupted.
Responsible for sleeping patterns as well as appetite, body temperature and blood pressure, the circadian rhythm struggles to adapt to new time zones -- especially when traveling from west to east -- and can lead to disorientation and fatigue.
Does it work?
IATA's Senior Vice President Tom Windmuller says so, claiming his organization has the expertise needed to create a global cure.
Otherwise the jury is still out -- not enough people have registered their reviews yet on Apple's app store to give SkyZen a rating.
The app is available for free via the Apple iTunes store (it works with a Jawbone fitness wristband and an Apple Watch and Fitbit version are on the horizon).
No date yet for an Android version.
Until then users can keep washing the blue pills down with vodka.
