By Donald Saunders
Ask any regular long-haul flyer about their experience of flyingand you will soon discover that everyone has a different "magic"formula for overcoming or avoiding jet lag.
In reality of course no magic formula exists – and there iscertainly no magic pill or tablet. There is, however, a greatdeal that you can do in preparation for your departure to helpyou overcome or eliminate jet lag and here are just a few tips:
1. Maintain a consistent sleep pattern.
If you are not following a consistent routine in the days andweeks before your journey (going to bed and getting up at thesame time each day) your body's internal clock will be disruptedeven before you start your journey and your flight will simplymagnify the effects of insomnia induced by jet lag.
2. Ensure you are getting a balanced and healthy diet.
Diet plays an important role in ensuring that you get a goodnight's sleep and an appropriate balance of whole grains,proteins, fruits and vegetables in your diet is essential.
Alcohol and caffeine are two elements of your diet that areparticularly important in relation to jet lag and these shouldbe reduced, or eliminated, in the run-up to your journey if atall possible. If, however, asking you to give up your twelvecups of coffee each day is rather like asking you to cut offyour right hand, then try to limit your intact to the afternoonbetween about 3 pm and 5 pm.
Caffeine when taken late in the day tends to speed up your bodyclock, while taking it in the morning has the opposite effect.Taken during the middle of the day, caffeine has little or noeffect on your body's circadian rhythms.
3. Take regular exercise.
Regular exercise can significantly improve the consistency,quality and duration of your normal sleep cycle. Some form ofdaily aerobic exercise, lasting at least twenty minutes, will goa long way to preparing your body for your forthcoming journey.
4. Start to slowly adjust your bedtime.
You should begin to "manage" your body clock by gradually andslowly adjusting your bedtime and wake up time in the daysbefore your journey, to bring these into line with the localtime at your destination.
If, for example, you normally go to bed at 10 pm and you areflying to a country that is four hours ahead, at your normalbedtime the time at your destination will be 2 am. So, in thiscase, you need to slowly bring your bedtime forward a little bit(say fifteen minutes) each night for a week or ten days beforeyour departure. This might mean that immediately prior toleaving you are going to bed at say 7.30 pm. However, when youarrive at your destination this will mean that you are now goingto bed at 11.30 pm and that you have narrowed the four hour timedifference to just one and a half hours.
5. Reduce stress in the days before traveling.
One often overlooked factor in the jet lag equation is that ofstress and much of this stress is a direct result of the journeyitself. How many times have you found yourself running around atthe last minute trying to do 1001 things at once?
Plan ahead and make sure that, as far as is possible, everythingthat you need to do both at home and at works is completed wellin advance of your journey. In planning for your journey, clearas much as you can as early as you can and make specific timeavailable in your pre-journey planning for plenty of relaxationin the days immediately prior to your departure.
These are just a few examples of things that you should payattention to when planning any long-haul trip and, together withother specific measures taken both during your flight andfollowing your arrival, will considerably reduce the effects ofjet lag, or even lead to no jet lag at all!
Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders - http://help-me-to-sleep.co
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
