Everyone loves a good vacation – the food, the fun, the sun and of course, the new adventures. The one thing no one likes – the jet lag. There’s nothing worse than landing in your dream destination at 9am feeling groggy, confused, tired, hungry and angry, with no end in sight.
We’ve all been there, and the feeling sucks big time. No one plans an entire trip expecting to spend most of the time there barely able to enjoy it. Giving up our beloved getaways is not an option, so how can travelers win the battle against jet lag?
These three tips will help free you from jet lag before you even leave your home, so that you can spend more time enjoying your trip and less time trying to find a place to take a nap.
Schedule Switch
A week before you’re supposed to leave for your trip, slowly start to switch parts of your daily routine to that of your destination. If you’re traveling east, try wake up an hour earlier each day and going to bed an hour earlier as well. If you’re traveling west, just do the opposite and shift meals and bedtimes to an hour later.
Skip the Free Drinks
One of the perks that come with international trips is the free alcohol. From wine and champagne to whiskey and rum, it’s tempting to throw back lots of free booze on a long flight. However, contrary to what most people believe, downing free drinks won’t actually help you sleep, at least not well. Instead, try drinking some calming chamomile tea to help relax your body, and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Also, healthy snacks like cherries are a natural source of melatonin and can help you sleep way better than a glass of wine.
Get Out
Often times people are tempted to spend the first day sleeping in order to rest their weary body – big mistake. To help you adjust to the time change faster, you need to expose yourself to the daylight as soon as possible in order to help reset your body’s rhythm. Get out and enjoy the city, and tire yourself out, so that once the sun sets you’ll be able to rest and wake up the next day more in tune with local time.
