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Depending on how far you’ve traveled and the time you land, it may be better to avoid light when you first arrive and then have extended light exposure earlier the next day. Because of these variables, there’s no single remedy for jet lag. Instead, quickly overcoming jet lag typically requires a plan that involves light exposure and melatonin. Both are power influencers of the circadian rhythm and can help retrain your internal clock. Whether you’re traveling for business, vacation, or an athletic competition, a big trip is usually cause for excitement.
If you have a trip coming up, check out these top seven tips for getting over jet lag. Get our daily email for the latest in travel, flight deals, and how to save on your next trip. We both know your short nap is going to turn into a deep sleep, and you'll wake up at 3 a.m. Buying water at the airport isn't cheap, but it's worth it. And don't be afraid to stop your flight attendant or press the call button to ask for another cup. Instead, a person should choose light meals or snacks if they are hungry, as these are easier to digest and less likely cause a disruption in sleep.
Use Food to Trick Your Body
The CDC also recommend avoiding heavy or spicy meals around 2–3 hours before trying to fall asleep. Both the WHO and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggest talking to a healthcare professional about using sleeping pills short-term. Before taking any sleep aid, it’s best to consult your doctor.
When traveling between time zones, a person should try to increase the amount of time they spend in the sun when they get to their destination. This can include going outside and opening window shades and blinds. Specifically, the National Sleep Foundation recommend avoiding alcohol and caffeine for around 3–4 hours before bedtime. Find out the causes, treatments, and some tips for prevention.
What Is Jet Lag?
If you have done everything we have suggested up to this point to cure jet lag you should be in good shape. But, there are a few things you should do when you land that will make things even easier. Despite what airlines claim,a colleague of mine found this out the hard way. His gluten-free meal, already allocated for him on the plane, was not allowed to enter the first-class cabin. Request vegetarian meals on your flight and avoided simple, salty carbohydrates. Just note that, with some airlines, choosing a special-order meal such as gluten-free, vegetarian, kosher, etc. may make you ineligible for upgrades.
Throughout long haul flights, flight attendants typically keep out large bottles of water in the galleys. In an average 10-hour flight, men can lose up to 2 liters of water while women up to 1.6 liters. This amount is approximately 4% of your bodily fluids. Even a 1% decrease in hydration can affect critical thinking, attention, and irritability. Recent research shows that our circadian rhythm is more than just an internal biological clock. It is linked to both weight gain and increased cancer risk.
Consider taking sleeping pills
However, it is important to note that the World Health Organization do not recommend taking melatonin supplements. This is because in the United States and some other countries, melatonin is not subject to the same standards of regulation as medications. As we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Some guides and articles feature links to other relevant Sleep Foundation pages.
And I constantly look at it, tricking myself to believe that I'm already in my new time zone. It might still be daylight here at home on the tarmac, but over in Europe, it's already night time. By slowly adjusting their sleeping schedule before travel, a person can help prevent jet lag. If possible, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggest slowly adjusting sleeping habits over the course of a few days or weeks before travel. In order to do this, a person would need to either stay up a couple of hours later than usual or go to bed earlier .
Don’t get to sleep using alcohol or sleeping pills
Jet lag can make you feel out of sorts due to an abrupt change in your body’s internal clock or circadian sleep rhythms. Symptoms include headaches and difficulty sleeping . Learn what you can do to get over or prevent jet lag.
If you nap for too long or too late in the day, it may throw off your sleep schedule even more. Try to keep naps less than 30 minutes and nap at least eight or more hours before your planned bedtime. Although you can’t fully recover from jet lag until your circadian rhythm adjusts to the new time zone, you can take practical steps to minimize symptoms.
Coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and even chocolate contain caffeine. Be sure to keep in mind other substances in these drinks, such as sugar, before consuming them. This article is based on an interview with our travel specialist, Greg Guiteras, CEO of Lorraine Travel, LLC. Check out the full interview here. 8 Sip a caffeinated drink before the early afternoon.
Jet lag is flight fatigue, a temporary disorder as a result of rapid air travel across several time zones. It is desynchronization of a circadian rhythm, which is a disruption of our internal body clock. My basic jet lag protocol already works so well that there’s absolutely no reason to try including any newfangled hacks, tips, or pills. It’s based entirely on human circadian biology, which hasn’t changed for hundreds of thousands of years. I literally never get jet lag if I stick to my methods.
By doing this, you'll start the process of adjusting to your new time zone even before you arrive. And especially when you're skipping across five-plus time zones, that head start can make a world of difference. Those late arrivals are my go-to for flights heading back home. Rather than struggling to stay awake for the sake of readjusting your internal clock, heading straight to bed can speed up that process. Travel writer Ramsey Qubein (aka @DailyTravelTips on Twitter) flies over 400,000 miles annually as a contributor to a number of major news and travel publications.
Not ideal if that seventh day is the last day of your trip. Follow these tips from Dr. Paruthi—and some time-zone-hopping globetrotters. Jet lag describes common sleep problems and other symptoms people experience after traveling a long distance quickly.
Tips to Help Get Over Jet Lag
Still, you can treat most jet lag symptoms on your own. There’s a good chance your symptoms will go away in a few days without any treatment. The melatonin hormones your body naturally produces to trigger sleep are also available as a supplement. If you’re having sleep troubles due to jet lag, you may want to consider taking melatonin capsules to help induce drowsiness at the right time. Keep in mind that melatonin is a supplement, which means it isn’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration , so consult your doctor with any questions and use it with caution. A few experts and well-seasoned travelers give us their best advice for dealing with the ever-present threat of jet lag.
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