How to Cure Jet Lag
- How to Cure Jet Lag
- Intro
- First Part
- Sticking with the travel-related pods this month in the hopes that they’re useful for anyone traveling home for the holidays! If you are, I would love to know where you’re from and where you’re headed over on Instagram @lovelydigest
- Beating jet lag is something I have really mastered. I went on my first international trip in 2015 to Italy and got absolutely wrecked by the time changes. I also ended up with a double ear and sinus infection coupled with pneumonia… sooo you can say I’ve changed a lot about my travel habits and wellness practices since then and that’s saying a lot considering I’m now considered immunocompromised.
- Beating jet lag is actually incredibly simple and requires not a lot of effort or money at all. As always, there’s several “levels” of what you can do when it comes to spending money, but the tride and true methods that work for me are entirely inexpensive or free.
- OPT 1: LTYG.com and discount code EBECK20
- Second Part
- So let’s start out with the free things and work up from there. The first is to start changing your schedule a little bit based on where you’re going. Obviously if it’s more than a three hour time difference, this will be hard. Personally I find this most effective for transitioning with medications. I take one pill in the morning because I very consistently wake up at the same time where going to bed varies a lot night to night and I’m not always home like I am in the mornings. So a week or two before the trip I’ll start taking that pill later and later in the day until I’m taking it, for example, right before bed around 10:30pm instead of 9am. This means that when I get to my destination and am 6 hours ahead, I can take it immediately when I wake up and not have to worry about being out and forgetting to take my pill on vacation.
- Another perfectly free method of helping with jet lag is to ground at your destination. As soon as you step off that plane, well as soon as possible, find some grass or earth and take your shoes off. While it sounds woo-woo, this was my dad’s preferred method of beating jet lag when he was commuting to China and didn’t have down time, so I’d say it works pretty well.
- More obviously, try to sleep on the plane. I have SUCH a hard time sleeping on the plane so I bring a silk eyemask, earplugs, bluetooth earbuds, nasal spray to hydrate my nasal passages, and a huge scarf to put over me. Even if I’m not actually sleeping, doing a meditation and staying in that dark/cozy state helps conserve energy. I have tried taking melatonin but don’t recommend it because it makes me incredibly groggy and doesn’t put me to sleep, so I arrive with a huge headache. I have yet to find something that helps me sleep without making me feel gross!
- When you arrive, try to stay awake until 8 or 9pm. A lot of people say stay up as long as possible, but honestly as long as you make it to 8pm, getting more sleep the first night is actually going to help you feel better and have a better start to your trip. Plus if you wake up a little early then you have more time for sightseeing. Just try to stay up a little later the next night! Upon returning, this is when you should try to keep yourself awake on the plane ride back. I wouldn’t recommend sleeping unless you TIME OUT a 20 minute nap. You’ll be tired, and definitely just sleep if you end up getting sick, but trust me if you don’t want to be nocturnal, just stay awake.
- Moving on to inexpensive things. I LOVE Beekeeper’s Naturals Royal Jelly Brain Fuel. I take one of these upon arrival and it helps combat any headaches from not getting enough sleep and helps me stay focused on my first full day. If I have more than one on me I’ll take one every morning for three days.
- PROBIOTICS! If you know me, you know I love probiotics. While the average healthy person may not need probiotics, the stress of travel and being in new environments with lots of lights and noise causes stress on the body and microbiome. Taking probiotics for the duration of your trip and a little before and after can help boost immunity and promote calm in the body.
- Ok, this is going to sound like your grandma’s method of travel, but TRUST ME. When I went to India, I wore compression socks on the 12 hour flight. Now I do not go without them. I did not realize just how much the body bloats and muscles get so tense until I wore the socks and woke up in Qatar feeling oddly full of energy. This was my first trip after that dreaded Italy fiasco (not the whole trip just the last day and that flight home), so I went all out doing “all the things” so I wouldn’t get sick and feel my best. The socks were by far the best thing ever. Just trust me.
- Finally some more expensive tips if you’re willing to splurge a little. I highly recommend listening to the previous episode where I give some options for maintaining wellness. If you can get a massage before bed when you arrive to release tension, this will help so much with getting quality sleep and starting your trip out right. The same goes for your return, if you have a massage therapist at home, book in with them before you go.
- Assignment
- What jet-lag-beating methods do you want to try on your next trip? Practice meditation before you go to start building up your practice and so your body will respond and relax and help you get into a sleepy state for that overnight flight.
- Outro
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