Travel the Smart Way: Battle Jet Lag

Whether you travel for fun or for work, the more you go, the more the chance is that you will experience jet lag at some time. Your chances also increase the farther you travel out of your own time zone. Jet lag can ruin a fun vacation, or hamper your productivity on a business trip, so it is best to minimize it, if not avoid it altogether.

Jet lag can mean different things to different people with wide ranging symptoms that can be mildly annoying to nearly debilitating. These symptoms can include: disorientation, fatigue, dehydration, aches and a lack of concentration and/or motivation. In a study co-sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company and two airlines, a whopping 94% of long distance travelers did report feeling the effects of jet lag, with nearly half of them saying that the symptoms were "bothersome" to them. Even flight attendants, who are fairly used to repeated long distance hauls report feeling some or all of the major symptoms of jet lag at least part of the time, and some of them find the effects so troubling that they leave the profession.

The major cause of jet lag is not necessarily the actual mode of travel as the name may imply, but the rapid change from one time zone to another, or one climate to another. Because our body has its own internal time system, (called the circadian rhythm), it is easy for it to become disrupted. People who switch from one work shift to another also ironically feel something similar to jet lag without ever having traveled a single mile. Traveling does not only disrupt this internal rhythm, but the heart rate, temperature and other body systems as well, leading to that dragging, run down feeling which may put the damper on your trip and leave your body open to opportune cold and flu bugs as your immune system becomes weakened.

So, what exactly is the best way to battle jet lag? First, try to stick to a routine if it is at all possible. If you know your business itinerary, check the time zone for the area you will be heading to and begin slowly adjusting your own schedule to fit into it. Make sure that you are your optimal health before travel, and be sure to stay well hydrated. On long flights, try to get up and stretch your legs at regular intervals and then try to rest upon arrival. If it is day time when you arrive, keep your nap to thirty minutes or less or you will risk the chance of not sleeping that night. If jet lag is really bothersome and you cannot avoid or reduce the amount that you travel, consider taking a homeopathic remedy which strengths your immune system and helps your body to remain strong.