Written by Catherine Saxelby
on Friday, 15 January 2010.
Tagged: guides, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, tips
Having returned home from a long-haul flight from overseas, I have to admit jet lag has taken over my life! Since the plane touched down at the airport four days ago, I've been so tired that I simply HAVE to have a nap every afternoon just to cope! I'm also wide awake at 2am, then nodding off at mid-afternoon, as many a long-distance traveller can testify!
I've heard that coming back is worse than going and I can certainly vouch for that. Australia is a long way from anywhere and I spent almost 25 hours in transit with fits of broken sleep on the long hauls - barely five hours of sleep from London to Singapore, then three hours of sleep from Singapore to Sydney. For me, with the cramped seats, noise and interruptions, sleep comes slowly and fitfully. So four days back home and I'm fighting the jet lag - that combination of fatigue, out-of-whack circadian rhythms and sleep deprivation.
I've been doing some checking to see what you can do to minimise that awful jet lag. If you do much international travelling then these 7 tips may help:
If all this fails (as I've sometimes found), just go with the flow and grab a nap, if you can, until your body adjusts. Have you found any other tips that help?
Some people swear by melatonin tablets to get over jet lag and get to sleep faster. I've taken them for a week AFTER I return but haven't found much difference. The US NIH has classified them as "generally safe in recommended doses for the short term". You can to read the full report here. |
Start the day with high-energy - read Catherine's article from New Idea |
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