Traveling is all fun and games until the jet lag catches up with you. Here are our top tricks and techniques to help you beat the jet lag and stay energized whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure.
Before we dig into our tips, let’s talk about jet lag in general. Jet lag hits you when you traverse time zones, and your poor body can’t keep up. You arrive at your destination, and the only thing you can think of is how much longer until you reach your accommodations and head straight to bed. Your body is confused, its biorhythm is completely off, and you feel terrible. It’s not the end of the world if you’re there for an extended stay and you can slowly adjust, but if it’s a business trip or you’re there for a quick holiday, bouncing back from jet lag as fast as possible is essential.
From preemptive methods to supplements, from diet to activities, several tricks and body hacks can help you minimize jet lag. Read on to get some useful tips to put into action on your next long-haul flight.
Before You Depart, Do This
Our circadian rhythm, namely the sleep/wake cycle, is carefully controlled by several hormones that put us to sleep at night and wake us up in the morning. It’s a biologically choreographed routine that keeps our bodily systems functioning in accordance with our daily activities. Any shift in the schedule, our routines, and, most importantly, our exposure the sun and our perception of the length of the day, can really put the hurt on us. Because of the delicate nature of the system, our bodies take a few days to adapt to a new time zone. Preparing for the big change is one way to fight the side effects.
Gradually Change Your Sleep Pattern Ahead of Time
According to The American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines, starting to shift your sleep schedule three days before departure can help you ease into the new day/night cycle and handle jet lag like a champ. Effective planning begins by considering the direction in which you’ll be flying. Flying east can make your hormones believe the day got longer while flying west makes it feel like the day got much shorter. Therefore, act accordingly: if you’ll be on an eastbound flight, go to bed an hour earlier every night until departure, and if you’ll be on a westbound flight, stay up an extra hour. It may be a small change, but it’s certainly significant.
Shift Your Clock and Routine to the New Time Zone
Going to bed earlier or later isn’t enough for most of us. To increase your chances of minimizing jet lag as much as possible, set a clock at home or your watch to the new time zone and begin to shift your routine to match the local time at destination. If your schedule and lifestyle allow it, carry out all the daily activities you usually do, like eating your meals, working out, reading, and going outside, somewhat according to the new time. Just like with your sleep, a shift of one or two hours at a time can make a big difference.
Avoid Blue Light and Embrace Dark Sleeping Conditions
To aid with your plan of shifting your sleeping schedule, it’s important to understand the effect the light from your electronics, commonly referred to as “blue light,” has on your body. Blue spectrum light stimulating and exposure to the crisp white-blue light early in the day helps perk us up. Therefore, if you’re trying to go to sleep earlier than usual, or even hoping to get some quality sleep on any given day, you should avoid spending time on your phone, tablet, or laptop right before bed.
However, if you must, you can use iOS’s “Night Shift” feature or Android’s Twilight app to turn your device’s screen output warmer. You can also use set up similar systems on your computer using apps like F.lux or built-in solutions like Night Light mode on Windows 10 or Night Shift on macOS. By setting your location and local time, the software adjusts your laptop’s screen light to match the day/night cycle: it turns softer and warmer at sunset and turns it bright and blue at sunrise. If you’re traveling soon, you can use it as part of your shifting time zone plan; if you’re not, you can use it to help yourself stick to a routine and enjoy better sleep.
Also, keep your room dark and reduce as much light as possible at bedtime. The darker the room, the quicker you’ll fall asleep, and the higher the shuteye quality will be.
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Source : Minimize Jet Lag with These Tips, Tricks, and Body Hacks
