Jet lag: how do you deal with this?

Tomorrow my daughter and I will fly to Suriname where my mother and other family live. This is if we manage to get through the chaos of Schiphol Airport ;)

The time difference between the Netherlands and Suriname in the summer is 5 hours. This means that there is a very good chance that we will suffer from jet lag. I therefore want to dedicate this blog article to how you can prevent jet lag and how to deal with it if you suffer from it.

But first, what is jet lag?

Jet lag is a disruption of your circadian clock caused by fast travel between different time zones. Also known as travel fatigue, flight fatigue and desynchronosis, it affects the body's sleep-wake cycle.

If you suffer from jet lag, you may have trouble with your sleep schedule in the new time zone. Other symptoms of jet lag may include changes in appetite, indigestion, daytime sleepiness, night time wakefulness, poor sleep quality, diarrhea, constipation, headache, nausea, irritability, as well as short-term dizziness and confusion.

3 tips to prevent jet lag

🔅 Dealing with exposure to light. When flying to your destination, try to synchronize your light exposure with the time of day in your destination time zone. If it's daylight outside the plane window, but night time at your destination, wear an eye mask to train your circadian system.

💤 Adjust your sleep based on the direction of travel. Traveling west usually means extending your day. Try your best to stay awake during the flight and resist the urge to fall asleep early in the evening. Don't go to bed until night falls, and you can avoid the worst effects of jet lag. If you're traveling east, especially on an overnight flight, do your best to sleep on board the plane. Wear earplugs and an eye mask if this helps you fall asleep.

🍽 Adjust your eating schedule. Your eating schedule can influence your biological clock, including melatonin production and changes in body temperature. Try to adjust your eating schedule to the current time in your destination time zone.

4 tips to deal with jet lag

🕰 Stay up late when traveling west. If you've crossed multiple time zones traveling west, resist the urge to fall asleep too early. Try to stay up at least until 9pm to acclimatize to the local time zone.

💤 When traveling east, sleep at a reasonable time, even if you are not sleepy. If you've travelled east through different time zones, such as from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States, force yourself to go to bed before midnight.

⏰ Set an alarm when you travel east. If you really want to get over jet lag when traveling east, you need to wake up at a reasonable time. Set an alarm and stick to it.

🛏 If you must take a nap, do so for a short time. Sometimes your body gives you no choice but to take a nap. At such times, try limiting yourself to 20-minute naps to balance the need to recover with the need to reset your biological clock. If you're sleepy after a few hours, take another 20-minute nap and repeat the pattern until nightfall, when it's okay to sleep peacefully.

If all these tips don't help, at least make sure you lie comfortably in bed. You may not be able to sleep for a while, but you will get the necessary rest.

Source: @drmattwalker