The best ways to beat jet lag
For most, travelling to far away locations tends to come at a price and not just in the literal sense! Jet lag is something most people will experience at some point in their lives and therefore at I Love Meet and Greet we’ve put together a list of tips which we believe will help prevent it.
Jet lag refers to disturbed sleep patterns, weakness and disorientation caused by travelling that tends to occur when your normal body clock is confused by travelling through different time zones. According to GP DR Dawn Harper, “our body clock is primed to respond to a regular rhythm of daylight and darkness. It is thrown out of sync when it experiences daylight at what it considers the wrong time and as a result it can take several days to readjust.” At I Love Meet and Greet we don’t think there needs to be any negatives to travelling and therefore we have come up with a solution for beating jet lag!
Firstly, you need to prepare your body for the change in time zones. Every week prior to your getaway, simply push your schedule one hour back or forward depending on where you’re going. This will give your body a chance to gradually adjust to your new time zone! Travel direction has some impact on whether or not you feel jet lagged and it is recommended that if you are going to be travelling east you should try going to bed earlier before your journey and the opposite for if you’re going west.
It is very important to make sure you stay hydrated on any flight, regardless of whether you’re preparing for jet lag. Dehydration is one of the key symptoms of jet lag and the dry cabin air on planes doesn’t help. We always advise our customers to drink lots of water before their journey and to make sure they take plenty of fluids for the flight itself.
At I Love Meet and Greet our customers always tell us that they find setting their watch to the time zone of their final destination at the beginning of their flight seems to help. Once you have done this you then need to try and change your routine around the clock. For example if your clock says it’s 11pm, but you’re use to it only being the afternoon you should try and sleep regardless of how tired you are.
When you get to your destination we recommend that you try to take part in daily exercise, whether that is a morning stroll or a dip in the pool! Exercise will burn more energy and as a result will make you sleep better. If the new time zone is making you tired at the wrong times of day, try to eat protein rich meals as this will help with alertness!
Our last tip for jet lag is to make sure you book your I Love Meet and Greet parking. We can guarantee that when you’re tired and the last thing you want to do it walk miles to your car is that we’ll be sat waiting for you right outside the terminal!
By Sarah Anglim at 17 Sep 2014