Knowing the different jet lag cures is essential when traveling to another destination. When you’re crossing time zones, this typically results in jet lag and sleep disorders, conditions that make travelers groggy, tired, and confused. With a few techniques, however, anyone can cure jet lag when taking long-haul flights. Health.com gives some effective tips to help you transition from one-time zone to another. Read on to find out the best jet lag cures that keep you from slowing down, no matter the flight times and distances.
Jet Lag Cures to Prevent Issues When Crossing Time Zones
It’s summer travel season, and there’s nothing quite like the anticipation you feel when you board a plane and cross time zones en route to your vacation destination. But there’s also nothing quite as awful as that sleepy, hungover feeling you end up with when jet lag throws your body clock totally out of whack.
Known medically as desynchronosis, jet lag is a psychological condition caused by disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythm. It happens when, despite having traveled halfway around the world, it’s as if your sleep cycle has not left home. You’re sleepy at all the wrong times. Let’s face it: the human body wasn’t built to cross time zones in a short span of time. Traveling thousands of miles within hours inevitably turns your body clock a little off-kilter. Even frequent flyers know how tough flights and distances can be! Below are 2 pointers to on how to fight Jet Lag.
1. Wake Up To These Jet Lag Cures
Time zones allow individuals throughout the world to abide by a unified time, according to their geographic and/or political area. Time zones are humankind’s solution to the fact that the earth spins on an axis. Basically, the earth’s rotation is the reason why there is day and night.
A human body’s circadian rhythm is based on this phenomenon. When you are exposed to light, your body gets a signal that it’s time to be up. One way to prevent jet lag is by adjusting your exposure to light in accordance with your new time zone. You can easily do this with a portable lightbox, or even with sunshine.
Another way to adjust your body clock is by taking melatonin supplements. Easily available in drugstores and specialty food stores, melatonin is a synthetic version of a hormone that helps regulate sleep. With melatonin, you can easily adapt your sleep patterns to that of your new time zone. Just make sure you check with your doctor first.
Lastly, experts also recommend going on a mini-fast. According to experts, traveling on an empty stomach helps your body adjust when crossing time zones. Just skip the airplane food, and you’ll be jet lag-free in no time.
2. Don’t Jet Lag Behind
Just arrived in #Melbourne #Australia! First I have to deal with jet lag and then remember to turn upside down like everything else here. Shows @micomfestival 10-22 April! https://t.co/n9xVwEtIsF pic.twitter.com/KsimvIiqx7
— ISMO comedy (@ISMOcomedy) April 7, 2018
Nearly anyone will tell you that traveling the world is one of life’s greatest experiences. Everyone should be able to visit faraway destinations at least a few times in their lives, especially now that international travel has never been faster and cheaper. Of course, for as long as the world turns, jet lag is inevitable. With a few simple tips and tricks, jet lag can certainly be prevented. That way, you can arrive at whatever destination fresh, wide awake, and ready for anything.
Click to watch how to beat jet lag symptoms:
Jet lag will surely throw a kink in your sleep-wake cycle and may cause sleep disorders, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do something about it. It’s normal to feel anxious leaving one country in the morning – only to see the bright light of the sun rise again when you land. With that said, how about enjoying every minute of your long-haul flights, knowing that there are ways to beat jet lag, right? Safe travels!
Have any other tips for jet leg cures? Share them with us in the comments section below.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2017 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
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