Jet lag
There are several symptons that are associated with jet lag. Read our ideas below on how you can overcome these symptoms.
Some of the symptoms of jet lag are extreme exhaustion, headaches, disorientation, loss of appetite, muscle weakness and possibly even stomach pains. Your body will adjust to jet lag on its own but it'll take a few days for you to feel normal again. There are some things you can do to prevent and lessen some of the symptoms.
What you can do:
- Drink lots of water - Jet lag can be worse if you're dehydrated during your flight so make sure you drink plenty of water and remember that alcohol, tea and coffee dehydrates you.
- Sleep through it - If you can sleep through as much of a long haul flight as possible then your symptoms could be reduced. Also, try and get plenty of sleep in the days before you travel. If you're travelling east try going to bed and getting up earlier; if you're travelling west try going to bed earlier and getting up later.
- When you arrive - For long-haul journeys of three days or more it’s wise to adjust your watch to the local time as soon as possible. For shorter breaks it’s better to keep to UK time as jet lag usually takes 72 hours to wear off. Once you've arrived at your destination try not to go to sleep until bedtime (local time) so try to have a nap during the day.
- Back home - When you travel eastbound you lose time across the time zones so if you're travelling eastbound on your way home then your jet lag symptoms could be worse on your return. So in this case, plan to have some days off when you get back so that you can recover before going back to work.
- Wear sunglasses - As your internal body clock wakes up at dawn with the natural light, you could wear sunglasses to fool your body clock into thinking that it isn't time to get up.
Next steps:
Bookmark with:
What are these?