One of the most dreaded aspects of traveling to another time zone is exhausting “jet lag”, or biorhythmic confusion. When traveling to Europe and then going back home, you are up against some serious jet lag as your body adjusts to the time zone and gets back into the swing of things. A lot of people expect to spend their very first day in a European country in a far away time zone walking around like a zombie, but if you follow these jet lag tips, you can avoid jet lag altogether.
• Start your trip on the right foot. If you leave for your European vacation already tired because of frazzled, last minute packing and staying up all night worrying the night before your flight, your body will have an extra hurdle to get through to avoid jet lag. Get a good night’s rest prior to your trip by finishing your packing a full 24-48 hours before you board your plane.
• Relax on the flight. Try to sleep as much as possible while on the plane to avoid jet lag in Europe and avoid caffeine and alcohol. These will keep you from getting rest in while you can and will dehydrate you, which can aggravate jet lag severely. Drink plenty of water and other fluids like juice so that your body is able to combat the effects of dry, stagnant plane air, which can also make jet lag symptoms worse.
• Do not go to sleep as soon as you get to your hotel. Regardless of how tired you are when you step off that plane, if the local time is not a normal bed time hour, stay awake. Go see some sights, have a nice meal or just take a stroll around the city. Forcing yourself to stay awake and then go to sleep at night on the first night will make the transition for your body much easier the next day.
Getting Over Jet Lag
So you followed the above tips and still got jet lag? Or you didn’t follow the tips above and are now suffering on your first day in a beautiful European city? Either way, you need tips for getting over jet lag easily so that you can actually have fun on your vacation. If you land in Europe and fall asleep in the middle of the day, only to shoot out of bed at 1:00 AM ready to start your day, consider an over the counter sleep aid. A standard pain reliever like Tylenol PM can help to get you back to sleep so that you can stay in bed until morning, when you wake up refreshed. If you have prescription Ambien you can also take a small dose to help you sleep through the night. Eat healthfully and drink plenty of water to help to keep your body humming along and you should adjust to local time within a day or two.
Jet lag can strike on your way home as well, so follow the above tips once again when you arrive back home. Jet lag from Europe to the US can be just as bad, so make sure you are well rested prior to your departure back to your home country.