Tips to beat jet lag

Jet lag is a disturbance in the body’s internal clock, linked to a sudden change in time zone. It dissuades some travelers from traveling far in order to avoid sleep disturbances, mood swings … Indeed, a large gap between time zones can seriously disturb our bodies. It is therefore essential to know how to deal with jet lag. Here are our tips!

Our advice before traveling

The goal is to adapt to the future lag before you even set foot abroad. You must therefore prepare yourself well before leaving by having a different pace of life than what you are used to having. You also need to prepare yourself physically so that your body can adjust to the future jet lag. This preparation depends on where you want to go. For a trip to the Americas, it is best to start the day later and go to bed later as well. Conversely, you will need to get up earlier and go to bed earlier for a trip to Asia.
To be in better condition when you arrive, try to plan your trip to arrive at your destination during the day. You will not want to sleep on arrival.
Finally, it may be a good idea to eat before boarding the plane in order to doze off during the trip and thus arrive more rested. You can also take a connecting flight, so your body has more time to adjust to its new routine.

Our advice on the plane

It is advisable to get on time for your destination as soon as you board the plane. It can help you get used to it psychologically. During the trip, drink a lot to limit dehydration. While it probably won’t help you fall asleep, it will lessen the negative effects of jet lag due to dehydration such as:
• Insomnia at night
• Drowsiness during the day
• Tired
• Headache
• Digestive problems
• Difficulty concentrating

However, avoid consuming alcohol, coffee, or other exciting drinks that can interfere with your body. Your journey should allow you to rest, not to get excited.
Another point and not the least, do not take a sleeping pill. In addition to the potential dangers of taking sleeping pills at altitude, it is even more inadvisable to take them when you are about to travel to the other side of the world. They may amplify your jet lag rather than mitigate it.
Take with you a special neck rest pillow, foams to cover your ears and a blindfold: this will allow you to rest a minimum and even if you do not feel asleep, your body will be able to relax. . Rest is highly recommended even if you are tempted to watch all the movies on the plane!

Our advice when arriving at your destination

The effects of jet lag are estimated to last for as many days as there were hours of lag.
Despite the temptation and although your body is numb with the trip, do not sleep right away when you arrive at your destination. If you can’t stand up, take a nap of around 20 minutes. Otherwise, there is a high risk that you will wake up in the middle of the night and feeling great.
Once you arrive at your destination, it is important to synchronize yourself with the local time, otherwise you will drag out the jet lag, which is not restful. You can do this by staying awake until bedtime, no matter how complicated it is. Daylight has positive effects on jet lag. Light is one of the main allies of our biological clock, because it constantly helps it to regulate itself and to reset itself if necessary. On the contrary, an anarchic exposure to light (as in the case of night work for example) tends to interfere with its functioning.

Recover from jet lag once you get back

Back from your trip, there are also several tips to help you recover from jet lag more quickly. The ideal is to shorten your stay to one or two days so that you have time to recover and therefore regain your rhythm, rather than returning to work barely rested.
Finally, during this period, abandon the screens. If you want to sleep and especially sleep well, you must keep your phone, tablet, laptop away …

The “mind” is of course very important. So if you go away saying to yourself: the jet lag is not going to tire me, you will certainly remain more active than if you tell yourself the opposite…
Have a good trip and have a good vacation! Also think about your travel insurance for a serene vacation!