Jet lag happens when your body clock is still on home time. Tired in the middle of the day, wide awake at 3 a.m., hungry at the wrong moment: your body needs time to catch up. Here’s how to help it.
1. Start before you leave
For a big time difference, shift your bedtime and wake-up time by an hour a day for 2 or 3 days before departure, in the direction of the trip: earlier if you’re going east, later if you’re going west.
2. Live on arrival time from the plane
Set your watch to the destination time as you board. Sleep if it’s night there, stay awake if it’s day.
3. Use light
Daylight is the strongest signal for your body clock. Heading east, look for light in the morning. Heading west, make the most of the light at the end of the day. A walk outside on the first day beats a nap in the room.
4. Nap, but keep it short
If you can’t go on, sleep for 20 minutes, no more, and not late in the afternoon. A long nap pushes back your night’s sleep.
5. Drink water, go easy on alcohol and coffee
Cabin air is dry. Drink regularly during the flight. Alcohol tires you without helping you sleep well, and coffee after the middle of the afternoon delays sleep.
6. Eat on local time
Meals also help your body find its bearings. Have your first meal there at the country’s normal time, even if you’re not very hungry.
7. Keep the first day light
Don’t plan the most important visit for the day after you arrive. Save that day for nearby, easy places, and put the big days later.
8. Allow a little time
It’s often said that the body catches up about one time zone a day. For a 7-hour difference, it takes a few days to be fully on time. If you’re thinking about melatonin or a sleeping pill, ask a doctor or a pharmacist for advice first.
In Travla
Each country’s page shows the time difference with home. And when you ask the AI for a day-by-day plan, you can tell it to keep the first day light: it puts the nearest places first and the big visits afterwards.
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