Go Away Alex Travel Design

Alex, you got any tips for jet lag?

The answer is yes! I have lots of tips for jet lag. Let me start out by saying that I’m not a medical professional, though I am basically a professional traveler at this point. With over 60 countries under my belt and several international trips per year since 2013, I can safely say that I am very familiar with jet lag.

The first thing to know is:

It’s inevitable. You are a human body. Human bodies require adjustments to differences in time and space! So give yourself some grace and know that no matter how many internet tips you read and apply, you’ll still feel the effects of flying your precious body 30,000 feet in the air over a planet in the solar system called Earth to get to another place and time.

That said- here are my best jet lag tips!

Before your trip:

Look at and note the time of your destination a week or two in advance.

Get it in your mind and start to consider how you might begin a slow shift. There is a feature where you can add two clocks to the home screen of your phone so you can see your local time as well as the time of your destination. This is a great way to begin getting used to it.

Start moving your meal schedule to adjust!

The biggest thing for me personally when adjusting to times is the loudness of my stomach yelling at me to eat. If you can start moving your meals to line up a little better with your destination the adjustment will come easier to you. Food intake is a huge thing people forget to take into account when discussing jet lag.

On The Journey:

I take a small bag of melatonin gummies with me on every trip now. I start out with one 2.5-5mg gummy on the plane about 30 minutes before I want to sleep. I then use them for the first few nights if I still feel awake before bedtime. I’ll also use them as needed throughout the trip. The eye mask and ear plugs combo will help you sleep if there is light and noise, especially on your planes. This should help you get better, uninterrupted sleep.

Day 1- MAKE YOURSELF STAY AWAKE.

Sometimes, it’s so so so difficult. You fly from Denver to France, arrive in the morning, and you are not allowed to take a nap! You must stay up until at least 8pm local time (or as close to this as you possibly can) so you can get a full night of rest.

Sunlight

Sunlight is your best friend when you arrive. Make sure you open those window shades so the natural light can wake you up. Natural light deeply affects one’s circadian rhythm (I don’t know how, again, I’m not a medical professional) but I know that it does work for me. As soon as you can in the morning, get some sun on your face. This will help tremendously!

Movement & Stretching

This likely won’t be too big a problem because most of us are ready to walk and adventure when we travel. Still, it is good to consider doing some stretching to wake up your body and get the blood moving. I also highly recommend child’s pose (generally considered the easiest yoga pose) as lowering your head from your heart is apparently helpful for jet lag. It’s also a nice nervous system soother as an added bonus.

Hydration

This probably sounds obvious, but you should be focused on hydrating as much as possible as soon as you leave your home. Travel can be dehydrating, especially on a plane. Some of us don’t like drinking a lot when we aren’t sure where there’s a bathroom, which I totally sympathize with. I promise however that it’s better to hydrate and force yourself to find that bathroom than to go on traveling in a state of dehydration. Water and electrolyte intake is key to restoring your body and keeping you healthy!

Conclusion

You might have been waiting for some real tricks. Sorry to disappoint. You will actually have to take care of your body and mind like you’ve heard your whole life in order to combat the pains of jet lag. There isn’t a magical cure-all. You aren’t a robot, thank goodness 🙂 Best of luck on your journey! The travel will be worth the jet lag…it always is.