Do you travel a lot? Have you been dealing with the subsequent jet lag from international travel? If so, there are ways to reduce the negative aspects of jet lag. After all, if your work or life doesn’t allow you to avoid long flights and trips, getting your sleep under control could be the solution.
Believe it or not, reducing feelings from jet lag could happen before you even go on your trip. Consider these tips below:
Stay rested
How is your regular sleep? If you go on many trips or have one coming up soon, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Setting out on a trip to the other side of the world well-rested could help you to avoid feeling extremely tired upon arrival, even if your sleep schedule gets disrupted. If you’re not sleeping well at home, it could be that you would benefit from a new mattress, such as a memory foam mattress or one designed for your body’s needs.
Adjust your light exposure
This may be a little challenging to work out but if you can, try adjusting your schedule to the hours you’d be exposed to light and to darkness while on your trip. Your circadian rhythm is what helps you get sleepy at night, and you can “trick it” before your trip by calculating the type of daylight/night schedule you’d be keeping on your trip. You don’t have to do this far in advance, but a few days to a week before your trip could make a difference. If needed, install some blackout curtains to help your efforts.
Skip lengthy layovers
It’s not always possible to avoid long layovers, depending on where you’ll be traveling, but if you can at least choose a flight that is only a couple of hours and not in an extra time zone, this can be very beneficial in helping you avoid intense jet lag. Plus, those long layovers can mean no sleep during times you would typically be resting, so if you can swing it, avoid them.
Try to schedule your arrival for the morning
If you find it difficult to sleep on long flights, this could be challenging for you but it can help to arrive at your destination in the morning, so that you spend the day adjusting to the new schedule. This will allow you to get to bed at night, which can help your body adjust for the rest of the trip. Alternatively, if your flight arrives at night, try to stay entertained throughout your flight and avoid sleeping.
Either way, try to dress comfortably for your flight, so you feel relaxed and somewhat rested for your arrival. Check your flight in advance to make sure you’re prepared for these factors.
Avoid caffeinated drinks or alcohol on your flight
Alcohol on flights is tempting when it comes to long flights, but the truth is that it’s not the best if you want to reduce jet lag feelings. Not only will alcohol make you extra drowsy, but it can also dehydrate you which can also cause you to feel unbelievably tired throughout your trip. Caffeine will make it difficult for you to get to sleep, if you’re arriving at night, so try to avoid it as well. Bring some hydration powder on your trip to boost your hydration.
In Conclusion
Jet lag can be hard to deal with, as you feel like you can’t sleep when it’s night but then find yourself extremely tired in the daytime. While these tips may not work all the time, it’s worth trying them out for your next trip because a well-rested, hydrated, and prepared traveler has a much better chance at feeling good than an exhausted, dehydrated, and unprepared one.
Image Credits: Andrea Piacquadio, mentatdgt
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