Reduce Jet Lag Naturally

Jet lag can be extremely draining even though it is something all business travelers must deal with. Jet lag occurs when a difference between your own internal clock and the time zone you are in occurs. Melanie DesChatelets says travelers usually experience this when traveling through five time zone or more.

The body’s circadian clock lets out particular hormones at certain times of during the day. Hormones like these control sleep, body temperature, and some other processes. If the hormones are misaligned with whatever time zones you travel through, you possibly could experience problems such as headaches, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating and fatigue. Even though DesChatelets mentions these symptoms usually subside after a day or two, that doesn’t really help while you’re trying to stay awake during an important meeting with a client.

Actually, there are a few things that can be done to help conquer jet lag. Six tips are here that you can try for controlling jet lag naturally.

1. Before you take off, try to reset your own body clock- Try to delay or advance your sleep for a couple days prior to going away in or to allow your internal clock to begin adjusting to whatever the new time change will be. Try going to bed an hour or so earlier if you are going east and waiting an hour or so if you are going west.

This may be able to help your internal clock to coordinate with your new time easier and hopefully you will fall asleep quicker.

2. Adjust your watch as you depart. – If you change your watch before you board the plane, you may suffer less with the time changes.

3. Keep Melatonin with you if you’re travelling eastward. – Even though sleeping pills will have you falling asleep quickly, they may cause dehydration which may make you feel worse than symptoms of jet lag. Melatonin is naturally released from pineal glands prior to sleeping. It is among the sleep cycle hormones which make you tired at night. If you are traveling, think about ingesting three milligrams melatonin a couple of hours prior to bedtime to aid in resetting your sleep cycle rhythm that may have gotten disrupted with the time zone change. Unlike sleep medicines, if taken in quantities that are small, melatonin is non-addictive, safe and nontoxic.

4. Go outdoors- In order for your body to adjust with a new time period, you should get out first thing for some sun. Sunlight has an effect on your internal sleep cycle so if you should get as much sunlight as you can.

5. If you are flying west, you should utilize light therapy. – Even though you may be tired in the early evening if you are flying west, you should try to stay up without letting yourself fall asleep until a normal evening hour. Excessive caffeine will interrupt your circadian rhythm so try to use bright light to keep yourself awake. Keep curtains open and bright lights working in your hotel room so you can have a bright light as long as possible.

6. Keep distractions to a minimum. – Jet lag plus disrupted sleep equals disaster. Make sure you can get some uninterrupted sleep once you lay down for the night. Use earplugs and eye mask to make it easier to stay asleep but be sure you will be able to wake to your alarm.