Beat Jet lag
By: Brads Swarner
Jet lag can spoil the first few days of your holiday, disrupt business meetings and make you feel really ill. Symptoms include exhaustion, headaches, disorientation, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, an upset stomach and/or stomach pains. So what causes jet lag? Simply crossing too many time zones. Jet lag happens when your body clock sticks with your old time zone but you have to function in a new one.
Your body clock controls when you are sleepy, alert, hungry, digestion, body temperature, blood pressure and hormone secretion. Crossing time zones throws your body out of sync and you find yourself in the strange situation where your body clock is telling you it’s time for bed but its breakfast time locally. Aside from the obvious annoyances, your body will eventually adjust to the new time zone and your jet lag symptoms will subside. But, if you’d rather not experience jet lag, here are some useful tips on how to avoid it.
• Wear sunglasses
You may feel a bit foolish wearing sunglasses on the plane but new research conducted by the Edinburgh Sleep Centre on behalf of British Airways shows that altering light patterns with sunglasses can adjust your body clock while travelling through time zones. According to researcher Chris Idzikowski: ‘The internal body clock steps up at dawn, which is when we can manipulate exposure to light – it’s a way of fooling the biological clock.’ There’s only one drawback, Chris admits: ‘I have used this technique on a flight but you have to be aware of immigration officials as they can ask you to take them off, which weakens the outcome.’ So don’t forget to pack your shades in your carryon.
• Drink lots of water
Not only is it good for you, water also helps prevent dehydration. During the flight, avoid alcohol, coffee and tea and take regular drinks of water to keep dehydration at bay. To comply with the new airport laws on transporting liquids, buy your water in the departure lounge before you leave.
• Sleep
Sleep through as much of your flight as you can. Sleep is an effective way of reducing jet lag symptoms plus you will arrive refreshed on the other side. Health experts recommend that you get lots of sleep before you leave to compensate for any sleep you might lose during the flight. If you’re travelling east, try going to bed early and getting up earlier. If you’re travelling west, try going to bed later and getting up later.
Medical research shows that people with a strict routine like mothers with children, suffer the most from jet lag. Children and babies rarely suffer from jet lag because the can sleep anywhere, anytime.
• What to do when you arrive
Set your watch to the local time and immediately start following the local eat and sleep routine and try not to nap during the day. If you’re struggling to stay awake, try exercising or listening to some music to get you through the day. To help you sleep through the night, try taking a relaxing bath with a few drops of lavender essential oil or try munching on sleep-inducing foods like milk, yoghurt, turkey, tuna or chicken. The effects of jet lag usually take about 72 hours to wear off.
• Home again
Eastbound travellers from the US or South America generally get worse jet lag as you lose time as you cross time zones. Try to plan to have a few days off when you arrive home or plan it so you have the weekend to recover.
• Rest assured with travel insurance
There’s a lot to remember when you’re travelling abroad. But one thing you should never forget is your travel insurance. For more information about the types of travel insurance available from Direct Line, visit http://www.directline.com/.
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