If I could travel back to the 19th century and tell a random person on the street that in the future you could travel in a flying, metal bird from the States to Polynesia in nine hours while watching the latest moving picture releases, they would have cause to lock me away in an asylum. It's truly incredible how technology has made travel more accommodating and comfortable over the last century...hell...even the last decade! Despite the creature comforts of modern times, traveling still has its drawbacks. Namely jet lag.
Jet lag affects everyone differently. Some people become the walking dead, others emotional wrecks. I become a dehydrated rollercoaster. The plane always seems to make me thirsty and dry out my skin and sinuses. This, paired with my ebbing/flowing energy levels, make me a wrinkly raisin who's either dying or flying throughout the course of the day. Pair this with stress and excitement and you get a wreck of a person who's too tired to sleep.
There's a couple reasons why jet lag happens. The obvious is the change in time zones. Our internal clocks tell us when to sleep, rise, eat, digest, etc. When the environment doesn't match this internal clock everything gets wonky...and I mean everything. Understanding dietary and hydration needs is essential to fighting off jet lag symptoms. Drink lots of water, avoid alcohol on those long flights, and limit your calorie intake prior to bedtime. Appeasing your metabolism and digestion processes are the key to avoiding diarrhea/constipation, nausea, and dehydration.
Jet lag makes itself most known in the evening and mornings - sleeping in past 4:00 a.m. in Hawaii or forcing yourself to stay awake until 8 p.m. in Europe. Yet, sleep is the easiest to adjust. Most medical professionals recommend against using sleep aids when traveling. Boo! I'm no doctor (so don't heed my advice), but I usually have to take a sleeping aid to help boost me into the new time zone. I don't have time to ease into my vacation destination's time, and too many times have I been wide awake at odd evening hours when I try to sleep the natural way. The non-pill option is to train your body into staying up later (traveling West), or getting up earlier (traveling East) prior to your trip. Also, avoiding sunlight or even bright airport lights prior to bedtime will help your body to start nesting (not a medical term, but I like the sentiment) prior to bed.
Keep in mind that even though you may feel wide awake...your brain isn't functioning on all cylinders. I mentioned that I become a roller coaster of energy above. As an example, the morning I returned from Hawaii I felt awful - nauseous, dehydrated, zombie like. By the afternoon I got my second wind. I was vacuuming, doing laundry, catching up on emails. Psh - I feel great! Despite feeling great, I had managed to do a load of laundry without cutting the tags off of a new purchase made on my trip. This realization was followed by 30 minutes of removing tiny pieces of paper off all my washed clothes and washing machine. All this to say...take it easy, relax, and try to force yourself to get back into the current time zone as quickly as possible.
Sleeping on planes is a whole other topic. If you've mastered this I'd love your tips. I don't like sleeping on planes for a couple reasons. First, I don't like the idea of sitting around strangers without 100% control over my person or personal items. Is my mouth hanging open? Are they stealing my passport? You get the idea. Secondly, sleeping on a plane is like sleeping at a children's slumber party. Somebody is always stepping over you, you're eating weird food at weird times, it's uncomfortable, and there's turbulence...well, three out of four ain't bad. If you want to sleep on a plane without sleep aids, I recommend spending the money to get out of "steerage." While first class might not be feasible, I've found Premium Economy to be quite comfortable and well worth the extra $100+ if available. Larger seats, pillows/blankets, foot rests, etc. make the trip a little more palatable.
Once you're off the plane, try to spend as much time as possible in the sun (or dimly lit bedroom if it's nighttime) to acclimate to the time change. The sun is a powerful tool for fighting jet lag. And whatever you do, don't remind yourself what time your body actually thinks it is.
The ugly truth about jet lag is there's no avoiding it, but you can help yourself by monitoring your diet, hydration, and sleep habits prior to your trip.
AB
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