Don’t Let Jet Lag Set You Behind With These Tips

Don’t Let Jet Lag Set You Behind With These Tips

With so many benefits, we sometimes forget that traveling has some negative side effects as well. Specifically, jet lag. What could be worse than getting to your destination only to be too tired and sluggish to enjoy yourself?

WebMD reports that the more time zones you cross, the worse your jet lag may be. It may even take up to a whole day for each time zone that you have crossed for your body to fully recover. Luckily there are some things you can do to relieve jet lag.

First, get some sunshine. Jet lag is basically your body’s internal clock sticking to its original schedule and not adapting quickly enough to its new environment. According to The National Sleep Foundation, daylight is a powerful stimulant for regulating the biological clock. It is highly recommended that you do not stay indoors as this will worsen your jet lag.

An article written by the New York Times reports that you should take note of which direction you are traveling in, it is usually much more taxing to travel west than it is to travel east. The article recommends that if you are traveling east, in the days prior to your trip you should expose yourself to daylight earlier in the day in order to sync your internal body clock with the new upcoming schedule. If you are traveling west, it is recommended that you expose yourself to daylight later in the day, around dusk or in the early evening.

On your flight it is best not to consume any alcohol, instead get some sleep. Ear plugs and eye masks are very helpful and if your doctor gives you the go-ahead a sleep aid such as melatonin or Ambien might help also.

Once you have reached your destination do not consume any alcohol or caffeine three hours prior to bed time, both may make it difficult to get to sleep. Also stay away from large meals or meals that are especially spicy, it is important to remember that your body is not at its strongest and isn’t as capable when it comes to metabolizing the meal as it is usually.

Most importantly, remember that anything that would upset your body at home, will be even worse if you are jet-lagged.