Almost all of us have experienced jetlag after a long-haul flight. Symptoms include drowsiness, muscle aches, insomnia, irritation, and difficulty in concentrating. Heading east is always worse than going west. To get your body back on track, here are five ways to alleviate jetlag quickly and efficiently:
Spend the Day Outside
Sunlight helps us regulate our circadian rhythm. For eastbound flights, try to get sone early sun as it will help you wake up. In contrast, for westward travel, try to get some rays in the late afternoon and early evening before sunset. This will make your body stay active rather than feeling drowsy and sleepy.
Earplugs and Sleeping Masks
Block out distractions with earplugs and sleep masks when you’re trying to sleep at night. Complete darkness is ideal for stimulating melatonin production which happens throughout the night. Melatonin helps us regulate our circadian rhythm so that we can sleep.
A Hot Bath on the Evening of Your Arrival
Take a hot bath the first night that you land. Make the water as hot as you can possibly bear and discipline yourself to sit in the water for five minutes for every one hour of time change. That means if you’ve flown from Los Angeles to Jakarta, you’ll need to sit in the water for one hour. After the hot bath, take the same amount of time to cool down. Taking this bath in the late evening will allow you to sleep soundly.
Take Short Naps
If sleep doesn’t come easy at night, try taking 20-minute power naps throughout the day to try and make up for the loss of sleep. It’s still important to try to get at least four hours of sleep when it’s dark. This gives our bodies enough energy to make it through the day without feeling too energetic at night.
Hydration
Your body loses approximately one pint of water for each hour you are flying. This is why it’s important to drink water before, during, and after the flight. When you drink water while flying, your body will swell up like a small balloon, but will later get back to normal after landing. Throughout your trip, drinking water keeps you energised throughout the day.