Coping With Jet Lag

Jet lag is absolutely horrible sensation for travelers to have to go through. Nearly any time there is a gap in time zones, jet lag will be experienced. typically, you will take one full day to recover from each timezone skip. So if you skip five time zones going from Washington DC to London, then it will take 5 days to completely recover. Nothing can all set or speed up the time that it takes two reactivate your circadian rhythm, but here are a few things that help.

If this is about to be your view for a few hours, read ahead!

1) Stay busy.

Although this should be intuitive, you will almost never get synced up with your new schedule in your new time zone if you decide to sleep anytime before a regular bedtime hour. Yes, you may be missing 5 or 10 hours, but you essentially have to pull an all-nighter to get your body set to the new schedule. This means no daytime napping - many make that mistake and end up feeling worse afterwards.

A little water and starch goes a long way.

2) Eat and drink a little bit more than usual.

Believe it or not, traveling across time zones takes a huge toll on the body, and the effects can be felt sometimes throughout the entire duration of a trip. You've got that time to take care of yourself. To make sure your body can meet the demands of hopping time zones, whether it is a 3 hour flight or a 20-hour flight, you should increase your water and calorie intake by 20% in comparison with what it normally is during the hours of travel. So if your daily fluid intake is 5 cups of water, include one extra cup of water. Your body and mind will thank you.

3) Adjust your sleep schedule, and take advantage of downtime.

This is where the neck pillow, sleep mask, and earbuds come in handy. When hopping time zones, you need to immediately start adjusting to your destinations new sleep schedule. Go to bed when you normally do, start your day when you normally do. It might feel weird to take a nap on the plane, but that extra hour of sleep you get now will prevent you from feeling like dirt later. since you won't be sleeping or taking a nap during the day (as mentioned earlier), you need to force yourself to try and rest now while you have the time. It is easier said than done for some, but if you have a 7 hour flight ahead of you, you can easily spend the part over the ocean sleeping. As there won't be much to see out the window or do anyhow. The in flight services on some flights such as movies and games may be tempting, but enjoy them sparingly and take advantage of the time you get.

The many faces of jet lag.

4) Get your exercise!

It doesn't have to be intensive workouts like dropping down and giving 20, but get up and move around on the flight. Keep your body active. The longer you sit, the more you will feel the effects. Do some stretching, take a brisk walk around the cabin, or do some seated chair exercises. A few good suggestions for exercises can be found here.

5) Try melatonin and light therapy.

These are two simple things that can offer amazing benefits to resetting the Circadian rhythm. Your body releases this hormone anyhow, so giving it a little boost may help you to reset your sleep cycle. Light therapy can be used to force the brain into being alert when it otherwise normally wouldn't due to the Circadian rhythm having not been reset yet.

6) When you do consume, consume responsibly.

You should never eat a fatty or high-carb diet before going to sleep, even if it is a plane nap. You also should not drink coffee or alcohol before going to bed. This will disrupt your sleep cycle and will counteract trying to adjust to the new time zone. Try to remain to your typical eating habit pattern and eat responsibly.

A moderate amount of calories go a long way, and may even be a part of your flight!

7) Minimize distractions.

When it is time to sleep, turn the phone off, and turn the television off. Get yourself in the zone to sleep, and start winding down 2 hours beforehand. Your body will thank you later, whether or not you do this during or after travel. 

hopefully these tips help you as much as I have helped me. Travel responsibly, and enjoy the process.

Bon voyage! Arrivederci!

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