Things You Need To Know To Reduce and Prevent Jet Lag

You may have to travel for work or for fun. Either way, if you experience jet leg it is not fun. Jet leg is a condition that is usually temporary where your body’s sleep cycle is disturbed because you have traveled into a different time zone. The body is used to going to sleep the same time each day but because the time in the new location is not the same, the body is ready for sleep at inappropriate times. This is especially true if the amount of light changes.

When your body sees it getting dark, it releases a hormone that induces sleep. When you are used to it getting dark at seven and then go to a different time zone, you may find your body is messed up. There are several symptoms that people with jet lag experience.

What is jet lag?

Some of the symptoms that a person with jet lag would experience includes gastrointestinal irritation, daytime fatigue, muscle aches, and headaches. Most people also experience a sick feeling which can ruin any vacation or make it really hard to nail that meeting with an important client.

What can be done?

When your brain reacts to the light from the eye and releases the hormone to make you sleepy, it causes a lot of issues for those that travel. There are some things that can be done to prevent the symptoms from being severe.

1. Make a plan

If you think about how your body will react to the different time zones, you can do some things to help prevent the symptoms from affecting you. Before your trip, you want to get the proper amount of sleep, exercise three days a week, and eat a diet that is healthy and balanced. Plan on arriving at your destination early so that you can give your body time to adjust. You can also adjust your sleep schedule to match the time zone of your destination.

2. Reduce the effects

There are also some things that you can do during your flight to help reduce the effects of jet lag. If you keep hydrated by drinking lots of water and eliminating caffeine or alcohol from your diet, it will help with the symptoms of jet lag. During a long trip, you want to make sure that you get up and move around when it is safe. That way you will avoid blood clots from developing and decrease the chance of soreness due to sitting in the same position for long periods of time.

If these don’t help, you may need to consider taking medication or talking to your doctor. She will be able to help you deal with the symptoms so that you can handle the change in time.

You can start to feel better when you get to your destination, but you have to make sure that you handle the time differences effectively so that your body has time to adjust.