Don't Let Jetlag Get You Down!

Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure there's never room in your schedule for jetlag.

What is jet lag?

Jet lag is when the body's own time clock is out of sync with the country they are visiting.

Jet lag occurs when you fly over at least three time zones. There are 24 time zones around the world - one for each hour in the day.

In these cases a traveller cannot immediately adjust to the time zone of the country they are visiting. For example it may be 7am when you arrive but you will feel more like sleeping than having breakfast.

Symptoms of jet lag include insomnia, fatigue and altered bowel habits. Other problems include irritability, dehydration, problems concentrating and sometimes nausea.

Advice for minimising jet lag during air travel

Long flights can be hard on your body, but you can limit the undesirable affects of fatigue by taking the following advice:

Adjust to the time change before you leave by going to bed earlier or later, depending upon your destination.

Travel from east to west when flying to and from Europe. You will spend more time in darkness, making it easier to sleep.

In general, travelling north to south is least likely to give you jet lag because you may be able to stay in the same time zone. Otherwise, travelling west is considered best because you gain time in that direction - not lose it.

If possible, make some adjustments to your body clock before you leave so it has less adjustments to make on arrival.

Get a good sleep the night before you leave.

Stop over in another country for two days during the trip if you are crossing more than six time zones.

Exercise your legs by taking a walk around the aircraft.

Take short-acting sleeping tablets to avoid a hungover feeling when they wear off. An eye mask and earplugs may also help you sleep.

Wear loose clothing for comfort. Your feet may swell during the flight so also wear lose fitting shoes or slippers.

See your doctor if you get a heavy cold before you leave. Pressure on your ears during descent can be extremely painful.

Airsickness is now unusual, but anti-airsickness tablets are available if you are worried about nausea.

Food & Drink

Eat light and drink plenty of water-keeping hydrated is crucial. Start drinking water before boarding the flight. It will reduce chances of water retention which can lead to swollen ankles and puffy eyes.

Stay away from coffee, alcohol and sodas (with caffeine) that can dehydrate you. Stick with water to remain hydrated.

Avoid overeating, this may give you indigestion or nausea.

Freshen up

Properly cleanse skin and apply moisturizer liberally.

If taking a "red-eye" flight, give yourself a pick-me-up towards the end of the flight. Go to the bathroom and freshen up; brush your teeth, change your shirt and apply a lightly scented tonic to leave senses feeling refreshed and revived.

Once settled into your new surroundings, exfoliate facial skin. Dirt and dead dry skin cells can accumulate during the flight, leaving skin looking dull and lifeless.

Advice for adjusting to new time zones on arrival

Take a short nap on arrival and then go to bed at night.

Try to keep the day on arrival free to rest if you are crossing more than six time zones.

If you land in the early afternoon and have an evening engagement, take a short nap; you will feel refreshed without throwing your body completely off of its internal clock.

If you need to go directly to bed, draw a warm bath and light aromatherapy candles. Lavender scent helps to calm and soothe you into sleep.

For the first three days do most of your activities in the morning if you have travelled from east to west, and in the afternoons if you have flown from west to east.

Try not to use sleeping pills, but if you need to, use them only on the first two or three nights and them stop taking them so you do not get addicted.

Taking a long-acting sleeping pill may be better for travellers following west-bound flights because of problems with early-morning waking after those flights.

Without jet lag special medication, it is believed travellers adjust at about the rate of one time zone each day.