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How to Overcome Jet Lag

Jet lag will pass after a few days, once you fall into sync with your destination. Jet lag affects your whole body; it’s a physical syndrome. Symptoms include stomach upset, deep fatigue, fuzzy-headedness, absentmindedness, slow-wittedness, poor concentration, weakness, disrupted bowel movements, and changes in the frequency of urination.

I read that jetlag is worst if you’re flying east because the human body cycle is actually slightly longer than 24 hours, which makes it hard to shift your body clock earlier. This is the case for ‘morning people” When you travel west, you’re required to stay up late, which is more acceptable to your body than going to bed early. This is the case for most night-owls type.
I personally find that it becomes harder to adjust to rapid time zone shifts as you grow older, Kids in general, do tend to have a more flexible clock and are seen to cope better than adults.
Studies have shown that healthy people cope better with jet lag than people in poor health. Jet lag will make you feel even worse if you travel while ill and may make you emotionally and physically impaired. So watch out when you are filing in your immigrations form.

Some people said that jet lag is purely psychological. They noticed that when they are excited about a new place and are keen to explore their new surroundings, they are never that tired but when they are travelling home, they feel much more tired. Maybe the idea is to be active, and look at the positive side. This might help your jet lag disappear faster.

As suggested by a local pharmacy in Kuching, (CS Lo Pharmacy), great tips for your holiday. If you shift time zones by more than 6 hours on a trip that’s at least 3 days, it is worth considering these steps to avoid jetlag:

Tip #1: Act according to your ‘local time’

On the plane, act according to your ‘local time” by adjust your clock on the plane. At the holiday destination, try to let your body clock adapt straight away. Go for a walk or listen to upbeat music if you are meant to be awake, according to the ”local time”. Don’t go to bed until it’s night time there. Yes, it can be difficult and you might want to sleep but try to resist the temptation. At least when you are ready for bed, you will sleep like a log. However if you absolutely must take a nap, keep it strictly shorter than an hour.
If you’re taking a very short trip — just for a meeting, or for a weekend vacation break — you may not want to deal with the hassle of jet lag at all. Just schedule your activities for the times you’d normally be awake, and stay on “home time.”

Tip #2: Don’t Lie Awake if you are Suppose to be Sleeping

If you are suppose to sleep according to the ”local time”, try taking a natural substance such as Valerian to help relaxes you and let you rest. If you do get up, don’t make the room too light, or your body will think it was right about it being daytime already.

Tip #3: Don’t drink too much alcohol or eat too much

Studies have shown that you should drink more water than alcohol. I personally try to consume only 1 glass of alcohol with my meal. Although I was informed that I should drink lots of water to avoid getting dehydrated, I tend to just drink normal amount of water, otherwise I end up having to get up often to visit the bathroom. To me, the air stewardess feed me as a form of entertainment for me (so I don’t get bored). I feel that if I am so full with food or water, I tend to get tired more easily.

Tip #4: Choose the time of flights

Once you are a season traveller like myself, and you work out if you’re good at sleeping on planes or not, then choose the flights that suites your sleeping pattern. if you can sleep like a baby, then you can time your flight to include an “overnight” trip which means one that arrives at your destination in the morning. If you can only snooze on the plane, go for a “daytime” flight that lands in the late afternoon or evening. That way you can go to sleep the minute you finished dinner and be ready for bed.

Tip #5: Air Sick Pills

Some people like me need to take some form of Air sick pills. That can make you drowsy and sleepy. The trick is to work out what dosage is suitable for me. As a seasoned traveller, I can managed that as I take a full dose the first time round and slowly reduce it by quarter. Once I get to the correct dosage, I find that I don’t feel sleepy whilst on the plane.

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