Beat Jet Lag

Most airplane travelers who travel cross country or abroad find jet lag to be one of the most irritating and time loosing aspects of travel. Here are some easy ways to beat jet lag and not waste those hours of feeling tired and irritated. Having just traveled halfway around the world by plane I learned these tips to beat jet lag and found they really work.

The First step to beat jet lag is to stay active on the plane during daylight if travel takes has you in the air during daylight times. Walk up and down the isles of the plane at least 5 minutes once every hour. This will keep not only your circulation going strong, help keep your muscles loose and legs and feet from swelling but, it will help to make your body feel tired.

Ask your physician for a sleeping aid or muscle relaxer so that when the sun goes down while in the air you will be able to fall asleep. This is an important step in beating jet lag. Put those sleep aids or muscle relaxers to good use if flying through the night. Trying to turn the sleep pattern to match the destination or keep the sleep pattern the same is one important step.

Eat small meals when flying and drink water. Do not consume alcohol or soda in large amounts when in the air or just before boarding the plane. Do not fast when flying as this may cause a low blood sugar and can make recouping from jet lag more difficult. To beat jet lag means trying to be as you always are.

Use a good pillow on the airplane. Airlines do not make their seats or comfort items of the best quality so bring you own pillow. A comfortable pillow can make a big difference in falling asleep on the plane or struggling just to get rest. Jet lag is not just caused from the time changes during travel but lack of sleep onboard a plane so sleeping is a great way to beat jet lag.

Pack a small loofah in with luggage. Once the final destination is reached run a hot bath soak for about 15 minutes and then enter a hot shower, use the loofah to scrub arms, legs and torso fairly roughly. Scrubbing the body helps to pull the built up toxins to the surface and rinse them off in the hot water. Toxins in the body make it difficult to beat jet lag quickly and easily.

If arrival is at night then have a light snack and take one of those sleeping pills so that falling asleep for the night will come easier. If arrival is in the middle of the day then try staying up until dark. Do not drink large amounts of caffeine because this will cause your sleep pattern to be more difficult to meet with the time zone at arrival. Beat jet lag by trying to keep the body convinced that it is just as it always is.

If medication is being taken in the am and pm try to keep these as usual. It may be necessary to skip one dose of medication so be sure to discuss this with the physician before skipping a dose. Medications have a lot of affect on the human body so keeping medications pro quo is important when beating jet lag.