One of the most common questions we get is “how to over come Jet Lag”. We know this may be deterrent for many and helps keep you away from travelling.
When I worked for an airline here in Canada every 2 weeks I did the cross Canada tour and had my daughter with me, and she would face minor Jet Lag, as it was 3-hour time zone difference. I found that I do not to suffer from it, while others will take days getting over jet lag.
I wish there was a pill we could take to get us over Jet lag, but there are certainly steps you can take to help beat jet lag
Let’s see if we can help!
What’s Jet Lag?
The actual definition of jet lag is “extreme tiredness and other physical effects felt by a person after a long flight across different time zones.”
What causes jet lag is the combined effect of changing your body clock and sleep patterns as you switch time zones, with the effects of flying.
Symptoms of Jet Lag
Common signs of jet lag include extreme tiredness, jet lag nausea and a general feeling of confusion and foggy-mindedness.
As your body fights to adjust to the new time zone, you will often find yourself fighting sleep during the day and wide awake at night with the dreaded jet lag insomnia.
Other symptom of jet lag can be upset digestive system + headache + tiredness and dehydration.
How long does Jet Lag last?
People on the internet say it can take you a day per hour of time zone change to overcome jet lag. I have no found this to be true as we usually got over it within the first day
But it is true that the greater the time zone change, usually the harder it is to beat the jet lag. Other factors are at play when it comes to jet lag recovery time, such as the time of day you travel and which time zones you are traveling to and from.
The annoying truth is it will take as long as it takes. However, these next few tips may help you.
How to get over Jet Lag
I recently consulted some of my fellow travel bloggers to get their top tips on how to beat jet lag. From talking to them all it seems to all come down to four main factors: Sleep, Sunshine, Exercise and Food.
Here are the best remedies for jet lag, according to my travel bloggers:
Adjust your sleep pattern to beat jet lag
Sleep is the number one concern for most people with jet lag, as it is where most people suffer the most – particularly if you are travelling with kids, as they don’t really understand what’s going on.
Train the kids
Before you leave, try to train the kids that you will be flying to a different time zone, show them on the map. Have them understand as you go through the “pre-week” , hey kids did you know as its lunch now next week it will be breakfast.
Have them get involved in the conversation about time change to help them understand.
Pre-reset the clock
Try to pre-train them, move the clock ahead or back depending on where you are going. Yes have the kids fall asleep a little earlier and wake up earlier short term before the trip. Every hour you can pre-train makes a big difference.
Re-set your body clock
The trick of how to cure jet lag is to try and get your body clock on to your destination time zone as quickly as possible.
The first 24-hours are crucial for beating jet lag.
Think about the local time zone as soon as you board the plane and adapt your sleep on the plane accordingly.
Don’t be tempted for that afternoon nap!
Honestly, you need to try your hardest to keep everyone awake. A long afternoon nap is going to stop you sleeping at night, and then you will end up in an ongoing vicious circle.
I know this is tricky – especially with young children who are being pushed around in a buggy. If they do fall asleep – try to only let them take a maximum of one-hour naps at a time.
Trying to stay awake at the right time is one of the hardest challenges of dealing with jet lag. Read on for tips on keeping everyone awake.
1. Get out in the sunshine to beat jet lag
2. Get active to beat jet lag
3. Adjust your eating pattern to beat jet lag
4. Mélatonine for Jet lag
5. Let go of expectations
Finally have fun and remember to make memories