How to beat jet lag

Herbal remedies Passionflower, camomile, valerian, lettuce tea, hops and pulsatilla are traditional remedies to calm the mind and induce sleep. These are available as teas or standardised tablets in many pharmacists and health shops.

Homeopathy Some homeopaths recommend taking Cocculus 30 twice a day for two days before the day of flight, during the flight and for two days after.

Melatonin Light striking the eye registers in the brain in, among other centres, the pineal gland. When night falls and there are no light signals, the gland produces a hormone called melatonin. The more darkness, the more melatonin. Supplements of melatonin, therefore, should act as a kind of override switch, fooling the brain that it's time to feel sleepy, and this appears to be what happens. In the 1980s, researchers from the University of Surrey carried out a trial on volunteers flying to San Francisco and back. Those taking melatonin recovered more quickly from jet lag. Melatonin usually comes in capsules of 2.5mg, 3mg and 5mg. A Swiss study found that fast-releasing tablets, even in dosages as low as 0.5mg, are as effective as slow-releasing ones of 5mg.

But despite being on sale over the counter in the US, where it is classified as a foodstuff, melatonin is not available in the UK. The Medicines Control Agency regards it as a drug and it is illegal to sell or market a drug without a product licence. Because the required research is hugely expensive, most pharmaceutical manufacturers understandably prefer to license products that can be patented and therefore exclusive. But as a natural substance melatonin cannot be patented, so offers little incentive for investment.

No adverse effects of melatonin supplements have been reported in healthy people so far, although long-term safety studies are not available. It appears to worsen the symptoms of auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis and should be avoided by people with these conditions.

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