The prospect of travelling overseas can get anyone excited. The different cultures and cuisines you’ll get to experience. As well as places you’ll visit whilst on holiday. While planning all aspects of the trip, you may completely forget to consider something that can ruin any holiday. Jet lag, is one of the least enjoyable aspects to flying overseas. With symptoms like headaches, daytime sleepiness and nighttime insomnia. Not to mention, gastrointestinal discomfort, anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and nausea. Jet lag can make a holiday less memorable. So, here are a few of our top tips on how you can minimise jet lag.
Understanding Jet Lag
Before looking at ways to minimise jet lag, it’s important to understand it. When you booked a flight to a distant country, you may not have thought you’ll feel this foul during your airport transfers to your hotel. You are in a comfortable vehicle which offers you the best fixed fares for private transfers.
Well, it could be because you are jet lagged. The general belief is that our bodies can adjust to one time zone change per day. However, development in transport allows people to travel across multiple time zones within 24 hours. Crossing three or more are believed to greatly affect our circadian rhythms.
Since it’s expensive, time-consuming, and impractical to go through only one time zone a day. We need to look at ways to minimise jet lag. Even with these measures, you may still feel tired after a long flight, so be sure to search for “airport transfers near me” ahead of time so you can book a service as soon as you land.
Change Your Sleep Schedule
One of the biggest adjustments we have to make when travelling long distance is getting used to changed sleep schedules. You may think that nighttime in your new location will indicate to your body that it is time for bed, but your internal clock will still be set to the time zone you travelled from.
In order to make this adjustment easier and thus minimise jet lag, manually change your sleep schedule as the date of departure gets closer. By going to bed an hour earlier each night, your body will slowly adjust to a new bed time.
Somewhat tied to sleep schedule is light exposure. Circadian rhythms are influenced by sunlight, and, as such, you can minimise jet lag by timing your exposure to light. This depends on where you are travelling to and there are many online calculators that can help you with this.
Plan Your Flying Time
Most of us dread daytime flights and this is because they usually mess with our sleep schedule. If you sleep through a daytime flight and reach your destination later in the day, you will stay awake throughout the night. Choose nighttime flights so you can sleep during the night. That means you’ll arrive at the next destination well-rested and ready for a day of exploring.
If your flight will be arriving at the early hours of the morning, a quick search for “airport transfers near me” will help you find transport to your accommodation without a delay.
Medication May Help Minimise Jet Lag
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and a small dose may help you adjust to a difference in time zones. You can also speak to your doctor about medication that may help minimise jet lag or the symptoms and effects of jet lag. Be sure to take the prescribed dosage at the right intervals.
Stay Hydrated During Your Flight
Most of us opt for a glass of wine or two when on a plane, but this could worsen your jet lag. While the alcohol may help you fall asleep, it comes in the way of REM sleep, which means that mental recovery is reduced.
It is thus better to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated during your flight. This will make you feel much better when you reach your destination and you won’t have to suffer through a headache or nausea while getting through immigration or waiting for pre- booked airport transfer.
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