An Ultimate Guide On How To Prevent A Jet Lag
“To Travel is to live” - Hans Christian Anderson
This is what everyone feels, thinks, experiences and lives. All those who love to travel want to explore each and every corner of the world and come home with great memories that you would want to cherish for a lifetime.
When you go from one time zone to the other, the biological clock of your body gets disturbed and the effect depends upon the number of time zones, hence you may feel disoriented, your sleep is disturbed, dizzy, less in concentration, weak, exhausted, tired, etc. it depends upon person to person if he/she would have a jet lag or not.
Here are a few tips that may help you to prevent jet lag:
Before the journey:
Select flights with less or no layover.
Eat well before you travel.
Try eating according to the time zone of the destination you will be travelling to.Take good rest before the trip.
Sleep well during the night before the day of your journey.
Try taking naps or try sleeping according to the time zone of the destination you would be travelling to.
Select flights whose departure time suits your sleep schedule. Probably you reach the destination at night and go straight to bed and have a good sleep to start a fresh new day.
Do all important tasks well in advance. This way you do not have to worry about doing things at the last minute and you are pretty relaxed.
Pack well in advance, so you do not have to stress about packing at the last minute.
Do not keep a lot of tasks to be done before you start the journey, that would keep you stressed.
Have a relaxed schedule before the flight.
Stay hydrated. Drink a good amount of water as you can maintain the body balance.
Avoid very spicy food. It may cause acidity during the flight and that would make you uncomfortable.
During the journey:
Set your watch to the time at the place you are visiting. It would help you no adjusting your mind and body top the new time zone.
During water and stay hydrated during the journey (especially flight).
Avoid drinking too much of alcohol during the flight.
Stay relaxed.
Wear comfortable cloths which would help you to sleep well during the flight.
Wear socks to keep yourself warm during the flight as they sometimes get very chilly.
Try to get some sleep by talking small power naps between the meals.
Power naps of 15-20 minutes are best to prevent jetlag later.
While sleeping buckle up your seat belt above your shawl or jacket or a blanket so that the flight attendants would not wake you up in case of turbulance or during landing.
You can meditate or do some breathing exercises or yoga exercises that you can do while sitting on the seat to keep your mind and body relaxed and improve circulation in the body.
Keep yourself occupied with music, inflight entertainment, books or movie that you might be carrying in your laptop/ phone/ iPad/ tablet.
Stretch your arms, legs neck, and back too if possible by standing or even while sitting. It would help to improve blood circulation on your body.Bring eye masks, ear plugs, a jacket ora shawl to keep you warm during the flight in your carry-on bag.
Neck pillows can also help you to get some sleep.
Do not consume too much of caffeine , it will not het you in getting as good o amount of sleep during the flight.
Eat well during the flight. Try to eat small portions frequently to avoid gasses and indigestion. Do not eat very spicy food which may cause acidity and make you uncomfortable.
After the journey:
Get some sunlight. It helps you to increase alertness. Sunlights exposure will help your brain relearn when it is day and when it is night.
Drink lot of water and stay hydrated.
Go straight to bed once your reach the hotel and take a power nap of at least one to one and a half hour.
Eat befor you go to sleep.
Do not drink alcohol or beverages with caffeine befor you take a nap. It night affect your sleep.
If you arrive at the destination in the morning, go for a small walk, eat some light food and then go for a nap.
Try maintaining your eating and sleeping schedule according to the local time of the place you are at.
Try not to take heavy medication before you sleep.
Melatonin, if required, take just 20-30 minutes before you go to sleep.
Don’t stress yourself much as soon as you reach the destination by going out for sightseeing. Try taking some rest before you set out to explore the new place.
Do not do anything that may exhaust you as soon as you reach the destination like walking a lot, going to the gym, going out for some adventure activities. It might not help your body adjust to the new time zone quickly.
These are some tips from my personal experience. These may differ from person to person. But some of these would definitely help you cope up with the jetlag and enjoy your exciting trip.
Keep your body and mind relaxed, eat well, sleep well, stay hydrated are all the key things you can do to prevent a jetlag and help you get the most out of your amazing trip.
Happy Travels!