All Blacks trial device in bid to overcome jet lag

The HumidiFlyer mask which the All Blacks have tried.

A former Air New Zealand flight attendant's invention could be the latest weapon in the All Blacks' arsenal against jet lag.

Paul Aberhart sent 18 of his HumidiFlyers to Auckland last week - just in time for the All Blacks to air-test them during their 14-hour flight from Sydney to Johannesburg.

The mask-type device created a few hassles during meal times, provoking odd looks from airline staff and apologies from the players.

All Blacks doctor Deb Robinson said Australian rules sides, particularly a Perth team who travelled across the nation every second week, used the device.

"The idea was we would trial the system with two groups of players on the trip to South Africa," she said.

The first group wore the masks, while the second group did not.

"With long-distance travel there is the issue of jet lag and also travel fatigue. We wanted to see if this made any difference. The evidence is very anecdotal and we will receive feedback from our guys in time.

"The humidity on a plane is about 10-20 per cent and in Auckland on any day it could be 80-95 per cent so you can lose a large amount of moisture in a plane," said Dr Robinson.

Mr Aberhart, who now lives in Australia, said he conceived the idea while he was still a flight attendant.

"We used to try and rest with a wet flannel on our faces. I thought well, there's got to be a better way of getting humidity into yourself."

He developed the product, and the company, HumidiFlyer Technologies, in 1992. The mask works by recycling the moisture exhaled in every breath.

The device condenses the moisture from breath on to an anti-bacteria filter medium. The medium retains the moisture, which is then used to humidify the dry cabin air during the next breath in.

Mr Aberhart said it was the loss of humidity that caused jet lag.

"If you took off from Auckland and just flew up and down New Zealand, across to Australia and didn't land, just stayed in the air for 12 to 14 hours and then came back down in the same time zone, you'd feel jet lagged. "

Sports teams and opera singers are big users of his invention, which is available only at a few retailers in Sydney, and by mail order.

Dr Andrew Kilding, senior research lecturer at Auckland University of Technology's division of sport and recreation, said the principles appeared sound, and the mask would work similarly to humidification devices in hospitals.

"I would still imagine that you'd need to drink some liquid. It won't do the full job without drinking."