Tips for surviving jet lag???

[tjscraps]

We got back from our cruise on Sunday, and while we were away we went to Florida (2 hours ahead), then another hour, then back 1 again and back home. All these time zone changes are making me feel terrible ... anyone have any tips to get over jet lag easily??

 

[KristinCB]

go on another vacation? LOL

 

[tjscraps]

go on another vacation? LOL

Man I wish! Have to work to pay for said vacations lol

 

[joelsgirl]

I have a lot of experience with jet lag, and, unfortunately, my experience is that even if you are sleeping at the right times, it still takes your body a while to readjust. The most important thing is to get morning sun in your eyes when you wake up and to avoid naps. Andrew Huberman interviewed someone once and they discussed jet lag; the takeaway was that the only way to really avoid jet lag is to slowly adjust to the new time zone little by little before you travel, which seems like either way, it's disruptive to your life.

I just watched Diary of a CEO interview with Dr. Breus, a sleep expert, and he recommended the Timeshifter app, which I have never tried but I'll look into when we go back to the States in May.

 

[tjscraps]

I have a lot of experience with jet lag, and, unfortunately, my experience is that even if you are sleeping at the right times, it still takes your body a while to readjust. The most important thing is to get morning sun in your eyes when you wake up and to avoid naps. Andrew Huberman interviewed someone once and they discussed jet lag; the takeaway was that the only way to really avoid jet lag is to slowly adjust to the new time zone little by little before you travel, which seems like either way, it's disruptive to your life.

I just watched Diary of a CEO interview with Dr. Breus, a sleep expert, and he recommended the Timeshifter app, which I have never tried but I'll look into when we go back to the States in May.

I will have to look up that app! Getting sunshine in my eyes when I wake up is hard in winter since the sun doesn't rise until I've already been at work for 90 minutes or so lol

 

[Sherly]

I think for me it's getting back to your daily routine will help the body to adjust. Yes you might still be wide awake when you try to sleep, but just being on the bed on the usual time and getting out at the normal working day time, help giving the body the signal to return to the norm.

 

[GraceJ]

Stay hydrated, and shift your sleeping time forward an hour or two each day or two —that's the best thing to do. I'm telling you this as a jet lag expert. If you stay awake and try to get back at your daily routine, you'll feel exhausted and it will take you two weeks to get used to it, plus, it's really aggressive on your body, and your sugar levels will arise, your blood will runs slow, which, by the way, is most dangerous because of poor circulation. But if you stay awake for an hour or two each day, you'll adapt much better without feeling so tired, and without putting as much strain on your body.

 

[jacinda]

I have no advice. Anywhere we travel from NZ has massive time differences, so we always have jetlag. When we got back from Europe, the kids bounced back within a few days, but hubby and I were trashed for over a week. Our body clocks were crazy. We didn't do anything except sleep when we could.

 

[GraceJ]

Jacinda, you're right, children adapt easier. I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old and we traveled from Europe to Canada. In a couple of days, my siblings and I were playing with our cousins, riding bikes, skating, etc., while our parents just slept.

Trina, when I traveled from Europe to Asia, since we were in Asia for a couple of months, during the last week in Bali, we started going to bed late, reaching 2 am. When we arrived, we had to set our clocks back 6 hours, and the first night we were so tired that we fell asleep at 5 pm. But the second day we spent the whole time on the patio sitting in the shade, getting indirect sunlight, which helps a lot, and of course drinking plenty of water, because even though it might not seem like it, traveling dehydrates you. We managed to stay awake until 7 pm for two days. On the fourth day, we managed to stay awake until 9 pm, and by the weekend we had managed to get back to our circadian rhythm, and we were finally able to go to sleep at 11 pm. A nurse friend taught me that to maintain her nighttime routine, it's much easier for the body and brain to stay awake a little longer until you achieve your goal, little by little, never aggressively.