Jet Lag Tips

*Get less sleep and eat less than normal the few days before leaving. On the plane select juice from the drinks offered. And don't think about what time it is back home. Change the time on your watch upon takeoff.

*Water. If you drink lots of cold water, you will breeze you through the jet lag.

*Bring eyeshades and earplugs. They're indispensable!

*Go to bed extra early about 2 nights before a trip. The day of my trip, I'll go to bed around 7 p.m. (using a sleep aid usually)

If you’re jet lagged, you probably feel some (or all) of the following:
Fatigue;
Insomnia;
Disorientation;
Poor coordination;
Swelling limbs;
Ear/nose/eye irritations;
Headaches;
Bowel irregularity; and
Dizziness.
Loss of appetite
Irritability

One of the secrets of seasoned international travelers is to book flights that arrive at night. That way you can go to sleep as soon as you get to your hotel. This helps you get adjusted to local time – you go to bed late at night once you arrive, and then wake up the next morning and fall in step with the local time zone.

*During your flight, get up and walk around every few hours. Not only will this little bit of exercise help alleviate jet lag, it will also ward off blood clots (a very dangerous, although rare, side effect of long distance air travel).

*Stay well hydrated during airline travel. In addition to helping your body fend off jet lag, good hydration will help your body resist the nasty germs that are inherent in the re-circulated air on planes.

*Some international travelers swear by melatonin. Available over-the-counter, melatonin is a hormone your body naturally produces at night. Supposedly, it tricks your body into resetting its sleep/wake cycle. If you take melatonin in the morning it will delay your bedtime; if you take it at night, melatonin encourages your body to sleep. (It’s probably wise to consult your doctor before taking any dietary supplement.) Furthermore, researchers have found that taking supplements of vitamin B-12 and vitamin C can help you fend off jet lag.

*Use the complimentary earplugs and blindfold.

*Invest in an inflatable pillow.

Melatonin, which had been available as a food supplement in health food stores, has been shown to be of help in reducing jet lag. Its effect is opposite that of exposure to light, so it helps to reset our biological clock by inducing “chemical darkness”. It has also been of benefit to many others with sleep disorders.

The recommended dosage, according to one expert, is as follows:

• For eastward flight, take 3 mg per day in the late afternoon prior to departure, and then for four more days at your destination, at the local bedtime.

• For westward flight, only take at local bedtime for four nights after arrival at your destination.

It seemed to work for me, but that is hardly scientific. Government authorities also seemed a bit skeptical about melatonin, not so much because of its use in sleep disorders, but perhaps because it was being promoted for everything else, from removing cellulite to improving one’s sex life. Correct dosages and potential side effects have not been adequately studied. So until that time, it may be prudent to search for other ways of dealing with this problem. Considering that it is no longer legally available in Canada, I shall not dwell on it.