3 Tips to Recover from Jet Lag
1. Understand that the direction you are traveling makes a difference. The majority of people have an internal body clock that makes it harder for them to travel east. If you’re traveling east and want to adapt to the new time, you will have to wake up earlier and go to bed earlier than you normally would. This is known as advancing your body clock. If you’re traveling west, you’ll have to adapt to the new time by waking up later than usual and going to bed later than usual, delaying your body clock.
2. Schedule when to expose yourself to light and when to avoid it. Ease yourself into the new time zone by consciously manipulating your exposure to light. For example at 7 p.m. you board a American Airlines flight from New York that is scheduled to arrive in London Heathrow at 6 a.m. London time (it’s 2 a.m. in New York). You’re traveling east, which means you need to advance your internal clock toward London time. To do that, avoid any kind of light during the flight because the exposure will delay your body clock rather than advance it.
3. Survive the first night by eating right and preparing the hotel room for a good night’s sleep. Avoid alcohol, spicey foods, large meals, dim your lamp and eliminate all other light in your room i.e. close your curtains, your alarm clock should face the wall and turn off your cell phone.
You can find more tips from to recover from jet lag from Harvard University at healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/getting/overcoming/tips.
