Everybody wants to be a jet setter until they’re up at 3 a.m. because of jet lag. Flying between time zones is often a part of travel whether it’s between states or internationally. Both new and seasoned flyers alike suffer from jet lag when their body is in their hometown time zone and they’re struggling to stay awake or sleep at their destination. Likewise, when you return home, it can make getting back into your daily routine challenging.
Luckily, there are ways to manage jet lag so it doesn’t entirely disrupt your sleep pattern and ruin your vacation or ability to bounce back upon your return.
What Is Jet lag?
There is a fancy and formal definition for jet lag. It’s defined as a sleep problem that occurs when you travel across different time zones. Jet lag, also known as jet lag disorder, is said to disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm–a 24-hour cycle or internal clock that helps facilitate our sleep-wake cycle.
When your body hasn’t adjusted to the new time zone you’re in, that’s when jet lag kicks in. Common symptoms of the sleep disorder include feeling fatigued during the day, stomach upset, moodiness, an inability to function, or just feeling generally unwell. The more time zones you cross, the higher the likelihood of experiencing jet lag.
Tips For Overcoming Jet Lag
While your body does need time to adjust, there are actions you can take on your end to minimize the effects of jet lag. Here are a few tips to take into consideration next time you’re traveling across time zones.
Plan Your Trip Around Time Zones
Find ways to plan your trip around time zones. For instance, you could book a flight close to your usual bedtime so you can sleep on the plane. By the time you get to your destination, you should be refreshed and have enough energy to stay up until bedtime at that location, depending on how many hours the time difference is.
You may also book a trip when it’s nighttime at your destination and sleep through the flight. That way, when you wake up, it’s morning time in your new time zone and your body has an easier time adjusting.
Stay Awake Until the Local Bedtime
This can be a tough one when your body is ready to snooze, but it’s one of the primary ways to overcome jet lag. Fight back by staying awake as long as you can so your body can adjust to local time. For instance, if you live in California, are flying to London, and arrive in the morning, you may need to stay up eight hours past your bedtime to adjust to the new time zone. This can be a challenge the first few days but naps are not forbidden as long as you take them early enough in the day.
Also, it’s easier to stay awake when you’ve gotten enough rest prior to your trip so plan accordingly and avoid the day-before-travel frenzy.
Get Enough Sunlight
Remember what we said earlier about your circadian rhythm? Natural light can have an effect on it too. Where I’m going with this is that getting natural light can help speed up your body’s ability to adjust to the new time zone when you’re sleepy and ready to shut down. If you can’t catch any natural light (it doesn’t have to be sunny), you can use a lamp as a substitute. Likewise, when it’s time to sleep at your destination, avoid both natural and artificial light, which comes from phones. Otherwise, you may be sending signals to your body that it’s time to stay up.
Prep Your Body Before You Travel
It is possible to prep your body to enter a new time zone by changing your sleep and wake cycle a few days before traveling. For instance, if you’re traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast, sleep and wake up later for a couple of days leading up to your trip. If going from the West Coast to the East Coast, do the opposite.
Try Melatonin Supplements
Melatonin is another thing that can help regulate your sleep while traveling. It’s a hormone that your body naturally produces a few hours before you rest, but the timing of melatonin production can get thrown off when you’re in a new time zone. To help it adjust, consider taking melatonin supplements a few hours before you sleep. This can be helpful for people struggling to doze off and those burning the midnight oil.