When I was 14 years old I experienced my first Jetlag. We flew out to New York and it was my first time leaving the European continent. One week later we flew further to Los Angeles and my sleep rhythm was a total mess. Ever since I struggle with these different time zones. I personally tried to stay awake until its night time in the country I was staying but it´s easier said than done...
There is nothing worse about a vacation than stepping out of the plane and feel exhausted or coming home from a fantastic journey and going back to sleep instead of showing off your vacation glow. I have determined that many of the Steemians are travelers by heart and are flying around the globe more often than "normal" people. Jetlag is such a big problem when you hop out of the plane and need to catch some meeting right after. The schedule is sometimes very busy that we dont have enough time to sleep at times we would like to take a rest in order to get into the new time zone. But I have figured out some great tips and tricks to get over this bad feeling.
If you are are interested, just keep reading
Go Grab A Juice
Grab yourself a 100% natural juice. It will hydrate your body plus its nutrients might boost your immune system too which would be a double win!
Get some Vitamin B and C
Vitamin B-12 helps the body to be energized and vitamin D keeps sleep-promoting melatonin levels in check! You can find a great amount of vitamin B vitamins in fish. So I would recommend eating some fish and catching some sun rays in order to get some vitamin D ( wearing SPF! ).
Avoid Caffeine And Alcohol
This is a must when you want to get rid of the annoying Jetlag. Caffeine and alcohol arent the best way to stay awake. They are both stimulants, they also contribute dehydration which will exacerbate your Jetlag. Try to avoid the espresso and vodka before your body´s clock has reset.
Take Melatonin
Melatonin, also known as N-acetyl-5-methoxy tryptamine, is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in animals and regulates sleep and wakefulness.
You can also find melatonin in supplements and taking these before you go to bed in your current timezone can help your sleep/wake cycle synchronize with your new location! I am normally not into taking supplements and I havent tried out melatonin yet but I read great articles about it and I think it is worth a try.
Stretch!
Yoga is known to relieve stress and boost your energy. I will put some Yoga poses below that will guide you so you can use it as a pre- and -post-flight activity. Do not worry if some poses do not work for you. Stretching takes time and you can see any results after a few weeks. ( I will write a whole article about it trying out different Yoga poses soon! )
You can also find some cool pre-flight stretches right -> here
Find The Light
You want to reset your circadian rhythm! First you need to increase your exposure to natural light. Natural really gives you a lot of energy and this is exactly what you need if you feel the Jetlag. Morning sunshine is the best source of natural light so make sure to be awake when the sun rises!
Hydrate
I have already mentioned drinking juices but your body needs a boost of H2O so always take a bottle of water with you. Drink water before- , during- and after the flight!
Sleep On The Plane
I know that not everybody is made for sleeping on a plane. But it will definitely help you to gain some energy. If you have any problems to fall asleep I really recommend lavender oil.
Rub 2-3 drops of lavender oil in your cupped palms, then use the inhalation method to draw the scent all the way into your amygdala gland (the emotional warehouse) in your brain to calm the mind. Then, rub on the feet, temples, wrists (or anywhere) for an immediate calming effect on the body.
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Your body is the only suit you have in this life so treat it right to get the best results possible. I do not talk about the look. Health is so important and you shouldnt mess with it.
I would definitely love to hear some feedbacks from you when you have used some of those tips while traveling to another timezone. I will definitely take you with me on my next trip and these tricks will be definitely essentials.
Enjoy the night 🌙
Love, Soldier
As melatonin is all natural and normally produced within the body, it can't do much harm other than giving your body signals to get tired (when it shouldn't). Actually wondering if it's a good thing to use for a jetlag, it might confuse your body even more.
The problem that you are trying to solve is not that your body is not producing melatonin, it's that it is producing it at the wrong time. Melatonin is produced in a cycle pertaining to your bodies waking/resting periods. This is why you get jet lag, your hormones (melatonin is a hormone) are on daily cycles from the old location, that do not match up with the days from your new location. Supplementing with melatonin before going to bed will create a large spike in your melatonin levels and your body will see that as the peak of its melatonin cycle and reset accordingly.
That's a good explanation, and why I am wondering how good it is for your body to suddenly change your melatonin level. I don't think your body is made to suddenly change this behaviour so rapidly with supplements.
If you're taking it once in a while to reset your circadian rhythm then it wont cause any issues.
As it is a hormone I'd agree with you that it's not a great idea to flood your body with it everyday. Men have an especially dangerous side effect from overdosing melatonin, it increases another hormone in your body, prolactin. This is not a big problem in Females, but in Males excess prolactin can cause liver and kidney problems. Taking too much melatonin can also cause insomnia, the exact opposite of what you'd expect. And to top it all off most supplements have way to much melatonin in them. The recommended dose is less than 1mg, but I've found 10mg melatonin pills in stores where I live.
Friendly PSA: Do your research if you're going to put anything in your body, food, medicine, or otherwise.
I havent used it by myself but I read many good things about it for the use of get over a jetlag. Maybe it´s worth a try?
Great info about Jetlag. I have never experienced this I'll surely try when I travel outside my country. Thanx for sharing...
As soon as you´re in a different timezone, you will experience this feeling and its not the greatest!
Good tips. I have not experienced jetlag as I have not traveled long distance. Thanks for sharing.
Maybe you will in the future
Thanks for the Tips @soldier. Have a good day!!!
Thanks, you too!
Having bath and then sleeping. That's my solution. It worked pretty well.
Also a great idea, thanks for sharing
Thanks for putting this out. We should all try to listen to our bodies, it helps.
Much love back
Some very good tips for the regular travelers, though I'm not one of them but will definitely share with my friends who regularly do so!
Stay blessed!
I am pretty sure you will travel some time to a different timezone but sharing it with your friends would be a great idea :)
I will, though my pocket doesn't allow me to do so but I have plans of touring different parts of the world that includes Berlin as well.
Thanks for sharing these information about how to get rid of getlag, they are really something i can practise.
Good luck :)
Thank you.
Not travelled outside the country, but i m sure it will help me in future. Thanks for sharing.
It will! I am pretty sure you will go through the same feelings and using some of these tricks will keep you energized :)
Thanks
I find sleeping and avoiding caffeine does the trick just fine! I never knew sleeping helps, but it's something I do almost every single time I fly lol.
Crazy. Caffeine is my goto for jetlag and for me it seems to work fine as long as I'm hydrated.
But it´s definitely not good for your health!
Interesting. I need to do more research on caffeine :)
Me too! But I heard of some people who cant sleep on flights.
But it´s definitely not good for your health!
Wish I was on Steemit and you posted this couple months ago. Visiting Pakistan for 7 months then coming back here was the biggest jet lag of my life . It took literally 2 weeks to get back to normal . All I did was sleep during the day and stay up all night . I'll screenshot this for my next trip at the beginning of next year :D
You need to! Having Jetlag is such a bad experience even if the vacation was nice. I would love to know if it helped you so let me know after your next trip :)
Definitely will :)
Interesting and useful information soldier, i didn't know melatonin
I havent done many researches about before too but I think it is really worth a try
Dont forget to live, its just a Day and then continue to enjoy as much as possible.
Yep melatonin is built just for this problem ( laos from our body)
So ready to take an international flight and test out these tips. Last international flight from states to Israel really affected me and had my blood sugar all out of whack.
You are absolutely right to survive the change of time zones will not help coffee, but sunlight. He and only he will help the body to figure out when to sleep, and when to stay awake (when the night, and when the day). Arriving at your destination, spend the first few days as much time as possible in the open air and try to lead a life of a caveman: get up at dawn, lie down after sunset. Thank you for the helpful article.
Great post i found it quite interesting and helpful as well, your journey blogging has only just begun. Keep up the good work and I wish you all the best for your future endeavors. Thank you very much for the post!
Thanks for this healthy tips, my problem is jetlag everytime.
You said it girl! Juice , vitamins , yoga and sunlight :) definitely a good cure for jet lag . But you know what ? Those are great methods of staying healthy in everyday life as well ! I practice those things regularly to stay healthy .i suppose people with jet lag need to double up lol
My last big trip didn't end up causing Jet lag, thankfully. I ended up sleeping in multiple airports though, and on a plane. By the time I arrived in Europe I was pretty energized. I will use these tips for my next big trip though if it doesn't work out the same way!
What also helped me to fight Jetlag is Modafinil when I wake up (It keeps you awake longer) and 2grams of Phenibut before I sleep. Make sure to set multiple alarm clocks in the morning as you will be hard to wake up.
the longest jet lag ever experienced like "The Terminal movie" played by Tom Hanks
Interesting and useful information soldier, i didn't know melatonin....
thanks for sharing @soldier
From child until now i never traveller by plane, so no jetlag but when traveller using bus or public car i got jetlag. I dont know how this can happen...
Great, learned a new thing today from your post, thanks
My only way to get over jetlag is to simply stay awake the entire first day after landing. It's hell, but something that has to be done for the rest of the trip.
Awesome Info Lena. Love it
That's pretty cool to know thanks for the tips by the way :)
Great Words to live by!!!!
Hey, my name is Nadine and I am new on steemit. I would be happy if you could check out my post as well and follow back. Thank you:-)
https://steemit.com/travel/@leo-tmp/amazing-festival-in-pattaya-thailand-my-travel-diary
I really like your post. Nice!
These are great ideas I personally love the essential oil idea since I'm such an oil user for everything possible ❤️💪🏻Thank you !
Hi! Thanks for the great tips, I am definitely going to try them when I fly back to Finland from California. It is a 10 hour time difference so I will most likely have some serious jet lag. I already had a lot of jet lag when I came to California but it only made me really tired in the evening and gave me a lot of energy in the morning (I woke up sometimes as early as 4am) so it was not that bad this way. The jet lag actually turned me into a morning person which is something I have never been before so it's quite nice 😁 Now I'm slowly returning to my old habits of sleeping... But I have heard that the jet lag when returning from USA to Europe is way worse so I will try to make use of your tips when I go back home!
Lavender oil sounds interesting, it could probably help for anxiety too if it has a calming effect? I have to get some, I have heard that it has many other health benefits as well!
Thank you for a great post once again! And the yoga pictures reminded me to get up and do my back exercises so thanks for that too, haha 😊
these are so helpful. thank you for sharing .
one of the things i like about steemit. everything at your fingertips. thanks for this @soldier