Jet Lag And How To Reduce Its Effects

By Author: Nick Kakolowski
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Jet lag can have a nasty effect on your body after you have taken a long flight. Historically, jet lag has had a reputation as not being a medically reputable ailment. It was often considered something that was in somebody’s head. It was thought of as an effect of long flights that only really gets to individuals with a weaker constitution. In reality, jet lag does have an actual physiological effect on the body. What happens is relatively basic; the change in time throws off your biological clock. The time that your body is telling you that you should be going to sleep is still in the time zone that you left when your trip began, but your body is now in a different situation. Your body may be telling you that you need to go to sleep because it thinks it is the middle of the night, when actually it is only the middle of the day. Extreme fatigue can lead to further symptoms such as dehydration, headaches and grogginess. In the end, jet lag leaves you barely functional. This can be bad if you are going on a pleasure trip to relax and get away from your day-to-day life. If you are travelling on an important business trip, ...
... then jet lag can be disastrous.

Rumored solutions for jet lag range from the mythical to the unhealthy. Many frequent flyers claim to have their own sure-fire methods of dealing with the ailment. However, there is not any one cure-all treatment for jet leg. Instead, there are a number of treatments available to alleviate the effects of jet lag. This will help ensure that your trip is enjoyable.

Treatment for jet lag starts well before take-off. Indeed, preventing the ill effects of long flights can start weeks ahead of time. One of the most important things to do is control your sleep patterns. Getting to bed and waking up at consistent times night after night and morning after morning will help get your internal clock functioning well. Then, when you get within range of your trip, you start messing with your internal clock a little bit. Depending on the way in which the time zones are changing between destinations, you adjust when you go to sleep. Go to bed either fifteen minutes earlier or fifteen minutes later each night, and alter your waking time (to whatever extent possible) in similar intervals. This will slowly bring your biological clock to a point where it can run at a similar time to the time at your destination. It is unlikely that your schedule will allow you to change your sleep patterns so much that you can completely mimic the timing of your destination, but the closer you get to matching the actual time difference will benefit you greatly.

Other methods of preventing jet lag are things that you may already be doing on a day-to-day basis. Eating right is an example of one way to fight jet lag. Taking in a proper balance of nutrients will stabilize your digestive system and give your body the right kind of energy necessary for your daily activities. This will make your body healthier overall, and in doing so help it to fight off the effects of jet lag. In the vein of general health concepts helping to fight jet lag, regular exercise is recommended leading up to a long flight. That does not mean that you will be immune to jet lag, just that the effects should be less severe. A final point of pre-flight importance is to remove stress from your life. This sounds impossible at first. After all, you are going on vacation to for that purpose. Take care of your travel plans well in advance. Take care of all necessary tasks ahead of time and avoid stress in close proximity to your flight time. Less stress will leave you more energized physically, mentally and emotionally. This will help you deal with jet lag.

Once on the plane there are wide varieties of things you can do. Wearing sound resistant headphones can help you sleep better. Sleeping on the plane can help your biological clock cope with the transition. Another simple solution to jet lag comes from wearing sunglasses. Your biological clock often works in response to the light that is around it. If the airplane is well lit, then your biological clock will think it is daytime and not allow you to sleep easily. Many seasoned travelers, with some medical support, claim that wearing sunglasses can actually trick your body into thinking it is nighttime while you are flying. However, to do this successfully you have to wear the sunglasses before getting on the flight, and for some time afterwards. This can become difficult if airport security asks you to remove them.

Jet lag can cause a negative effect on your vacation and by following these steps; your vacation can be much more enjoyable. Plan accordingly, when you travel long distances, and you are sure to have a wonderful vacation or successful business trip.

About Author:

Nick Kakolowski is a freelance writer who writes about topics and tips involving the travel industry and special deals, often discussing specific subjects such as Cheap Flights.