Suffer from bad jetlag?
Jetlag is the bane of a traveller’s life. It can be horribly disorientating, with symptoms like tiredness coupled with feeling too wired to sleep.
You might also experience mental slowness and an inability to concentrate - not exactly what you want if you're travelling the world and want to take in the sights!
Jet lag occurs when you travel quickly across more than two times zones leading to confusion between your internal body clock and the local time – and it’s worse when you travel eastwards because you, in a sense, lose time.
If you're a frequent travellers and find yourself get jet lag a lot, there are some things you can do to alleviate it!
Acclimatise slowly
- The only way to do it quickly is artificially, by ‘hacking’ your sleep cycle. And this begins in the week before you fly, reducing the difference between the time zone you’re leaving behind and the time zone you’re arriving in.
- In the days before you leave, make sure you carefully schedule your light, sleep, wake and food timings. Basically, you advance your clock. On the first night, you sleep from 11pm to 7am, on the second 10pm to 6am and so on, until you’re going to bed at 7pm and getting up at 3am.
- Now the difference between your bedtime and your destination’s bedtime is much closer together
Make the best of your sleep space
- If it’s a night flight, you want to be sleeping on the plane. We’ve already synchronised your body clock - so now create your own good sleep area. Tell the person next to you that you’re planning to sleep and ask them not to let the crew wake you for food.
- Get as comfortable as possible with enough blankets to stay warm, pillows, and eating a light snack before you sleep so you don’t wake up with a gnawing stomach.
- Bring earplugs and a good eye mask.
Good plane behaviour
- If you associate flying with free in-flight drinks, hours spent watching movies and chowing down on plane food, it’s time to have a rethink.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol, stay as hydrated as possible in the dry air and don’t fill up on sugary treats that mess with your energy levels,” recommends Dr Meadows.
- Only eat the meals that work on the time zone you’re flying towards.
- Avoid watching movies during your ‘nighttime’ as the artificial light will confuse your body clock and seek out the light as soon as you wake to tell your body that yes, this is morning.
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