Jet Lag - 5 Pre-travel Steps to Reduce the Effects of Jet Lag

Ask any regular long-haul flyer about their experience of flying and you will soon discover that everyone has a different "magic" formula for overcoming or avoiding jet lag.

In reality of course no magic formula exists - and there is certainly no magic pill or tablet. There is, however, a great deal that you can do in preparation for your departure to help you overcome or eliminate jet lag and here are just a few tips:

1. Maintain a consistent sleep pattern.

If you are not following a consistent routine in the days and weeks before your journey (going to bed and getting up at the same time each day) your body's internal clock will be disrupted even before you start your journey and your flight will simply magnify the effects of insomnia induced by jet lag.

2. Ensure you are getting a balanced and healthy diet.

Diet plays an important role in ensuring that you get a good night's sleep and an appropriate balance of whole grains, proteins, fruits and vegetables in your diet is essential.

Alcohol and caffeine are two elements of your diet that are particularly important in relation to jet lag and these should be reduced, or eliminated, in the run-up to your journey if at all possible. If, however, asking you to give up your twelve cups of coffee each day is rather like asking you to cut off your right hand, then try to limit your intake to the afternoon between about 3 pm and 5 pm.

Caffeine when taken late in the day tends to speed up your body clock, while taking it in the morning has the opposite effect. Taken during the middle of the day, caffeine has little or no effect on your body's circadian rhythms.

3. Take regular exercise.

Regular exercise can significantly improve the consistency, quality and duration of your normal sleep cycle. Some form of daily aerobic exercise, lasting at least twenty minutes, will go a long way to preparing your body for your forthcoming journey.

4. Start to slowly adjust your bedtime.

You should begin to "manage" your body clock by gradually and slowly adjusting your bedtime and wake up time in the days before your journey, to bring these into line with the local time at your destination.

If, for example, you normally go to bed at 10 pm and you are flying to a country that is four hours ahead, at your normal bedtime the time at your destination will be 2 am. So, in this case, you need to slowly bring your bedtime forward a little bit (say fifteen minutes) each night for a week or ten days before your departure. This might mean that immediately prior to leaving you are going to bed at say 7.30 pm. However, when you arrive at your destination this will mean that you are now going to bed at 11.30 pm and that you have narrowed the four hour time difference to just one and a half hours.

5. Reduce stress in the days before traveling.

One often overlooked factor in the jet lag equation is that of stress and much of this stress is a direct result of the journey itself. How many times have you found yourself running around at the last minute trying to do 1001 things at once?

Plan ahead and make sure that, as far as is possible, everything that you need to do both at home and at works is completed well in advance of your journey. In planning for your journey, clear as much as you can as early as you can and make specific time available in your pre-journey planning for plenty of relaxation in the days immediately prior to your departure.

These are just a few examples of things that you should pay attention to when planning any long-haul trip and, together with other specific measures taken both during your flight and following your arrival, will considerably reduce the effects of jet lag, or even lead to no jet lag at all!

Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders - http://help-me-to-sleep.com

Donald Saunders is the author of a number of health-related publications looking in detail at curing insomnia and managing other common sleep disorders. Drop by for more information on jet lag and to pick up your free copy of "How To Get A Good Night's Sleep".

More Resources

Private Jet Ownership Indeed
Wouldn't you like to own your own private jet? Have you ever thought about it? Many of us have and you know what it is not all that expensive as you might think after all. Private jet ownership is really taking off these days.
Entering Business Aviation, Part II: Pay Rates for Flight Attendants
Pay. You know that aviation pays better than commercial, in most cases a lot better, but you aren't sure what the going rate is for a corporate flight attendant.
Young Men Trying to Imitate the 9-11 Scenario, Part II
What happened to General Aviation after 9-11? Why did we take the ITC away in the late 80's? Why were we hostile with IRS regulations toward Civil Air Patrol pilot owners? What else did this cause and why is it significant to this Part II of aviation mentor-ships for young men? We continue now with Part II of "Young Men trying to imitate the 9-11 Scenario."Wichita KS boomed due to the Ivestment Tax Credit regulations and the city had lots of population to draw from for mechanics, since so many people worked in the aviation factories.
Flying Blimp Walrus Could Have Assisted in Evacuations
What is a Walrus Super Blimp? It is a giant heavy lift Blimp being evaluated by the United States Department of Defense's special research division; DARPA. What is DARPA? Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
What Causes Jet Lag?
Jet lag is a common sleep disorder suffered by many millions of travelers every day, whether traveling on business or for pleasure. In one recent survey of international business travelers, seventy four percent of those questioned said that they suffered frequently from jet lag.
Cheap Airline Tickets! With Internet Access, The Skies The Limit For Great Deals
With easy access to the Internet, the convenience of finding cheap airline tickets is just a few clicks away. As more airline inventory becomes available directly to the public through the World Wide Web, cheap flights are being purchased in record numbers, and nearly everyone hunting for fantastic low cost airline tickets are finding better deals online, than offered at their local travel agency!If you happen to be wondering why your local travel agency seems to have a hard time competing with all the cheap tickets offered by online travel suppliers, well its a matter of volume.
Airport Travel Tips: Reducing Waiting Times
Key Travel TipsFollowing these tips will help you reduce your wait time at the security checkpoint.Before you go to the Airport? Do not pack or bring Prohibited Items to the airport.
Downed Pilots Hibernating From the Enemy
When we watch Oliver North's "War Stories" or the "Wings Discovery Channel" we often see the problematic issues with downed pilots trying to evade the enemy. They have limited if any food supply and lots of people looking for them.
Hypersonic or Ultrasonic Sound to Disrupt Laser Beam Attack on Commercial Airliners
In large buildings to prevent sound pollution often double paned glass is used with music or flowing air between the panes, this works very well and is sufficient to prevent the noise. Since many commercial airliners have double paned glass already if we are careful to watch the harmonics as to not cause structural problems to the aircraft (remember the Comet), then we propose hypersound or ultrasonic sound within the panes to prevent laser light from entering the cockpit and inhibiting or blinding the pilots.
FAA Intervention in Privatized Space Flight is Ridiculous
Burt Rutan and his team of designers, engineers and test pilots at Scaled Composites did something no private group had ever done. They proved that private space flight is feasible and safe.
I Am Afraid Of Flying; You Are Not Getting Me A Light Plane
Boy I have heard it all from my friends. I am afraid of flying.
Do Jet Lag Diets Work?
Anti jet lag diets have been around for some time now, but do they work?Perhaps the best know anti jet lag diet is the Argonne Diet, developed at the Argonne National Laboratory in 1982. Over the years thousands of people have downloaded copies of this diet online and it is reputed to have been used by an impressive list of people including the late President Ronald Regan, the US Secret Service, the CIA and the US Army and Navy.
Flying With Your Dog
A pet owner must research the many requirements before taking a dog on an airplane. Different airlines have slightly different regulations, but most airlines follow the same basic set of rules in regards to flying with a dog.
China is Starting to Build Military Fighter Trainers
China is entering the jet fighter trainer business and set to start building a completely new generation of trainers called the JL-19 Mountain Eagle. The jet is also know as the FTC-2000, which is interesting, as the FTC is the agency which is crippling our US Corporations competitiveness over seas now.
Airbus A-380 is Pretty Big
You know the Airbus A-380 is so huge it takes 2 hours to load and unload and that is if you are rushing the people on and off like cattle. The aircraft holds more fuel than a Boeing 727 weighs.
First Class Airfare: How the Rich Travel
Have you ever wondered what all entails first class airfare, but never knew where to look? First class airfare can cost up to 15 times more than the regular fares for the same trip. So what do travelers living the high life actually get for these super inflated prices? Well, a lot.
Tips to Finding Really Cheap Airline Tickets
Finding really cheap airline tickets onlineLooking for a really good deal on flights? Here are some of the best strategies used to find really cheap airline tickets online.1) Really Cheap Airline Tickets: Last minute flightsOften you'll find really cheap airline tickets posted at the last minute.
Lockheed Loitering Missile Expandable Wing Concept
Smart Missiles are expensive, but effective. Efficiency in the the new paradigm of the net-centric warfare will yield results to those who pay attention and do not waste assets.
Future Shuttle Launches
The military aircraft we have are all equipped with anti-SAM systems. These prevent SAMs, Surface-to-air-missiles, which are heat seeking from hitting the aircraft.
AWACS Automated Flight Following System for Nuke Bunker Buster Accuracy
The Aerial Fire Fighting Industry uses a system called AFF Automated Flight Following System. It works from a satellite.

More Aviation Information:

Related Articles

Increasing TAS in Modern Day Fighters with Expandable Wing Tips
As fighter aircraft get faster and faster there is a diminishing return on more aerodynamic streamlining in designs. You can only build the aircraft so "Aerodynamically Correct" once you have the best optimum design for speed, there is little you can do without changing the aircraft in-flight or the air itself.
Learning to Fly
Flying is fun. I learned to fly myself when I was 10-years old as my dad was an Airline Pilot and former Naval Aviator.
So You Want to Get Free Airline Tickets: Should You Choose a Reward or Cash Back Credit Card?
If you want to use a reward credit card for getting free airline tickets, you have a choice of choosing a dedicated airline credit card, a travel reward credit card or a cash back credit card. A dedicated airline credit credit card has hefty annual fees and may not be worth it if you are not a very frequent traveller or do not spend enough on your credit card.
General Aviation Manufacturing is in the Tank; Hang On It is Going to Get Worse
Change is a constant, Outsourcing Jobs, Capital flows, Emerging Markets are a given and this includes the Aviation Manufacturing Sector as we watch the current Migration pick up speed.It appears that the technological advantage that we have here in the United States is no longer going to sustain us without further advances.
Point to Point VS Spoke and Hub? Air Taxi
Boeing it is said took a big gamble in predicting the future of air travel. Instead of going bigger like Airbus and building an aircraft like the A380, the biggest airliner ever built; The Boeing Company decided to go for a more efficient smaller aircraft with better materials and better range.
Finding Really Cheap Airline Tickets Online
Trying to find really cheap airline tickets can become very frustrating and time consuming but if you know how and where to search you can quickly and easily find airline tickets online.The internet is fast become the best place to find really cheap airline ticket deals.
How Cheap Can You Get? Try Online for Cheap Air Tickets
Most consumers feel the airline travel is very costly. We can end up spending a fortune when we add up the various costs, such as flights, accommodation, taxes and insurance, hotel services and car hire.
A380 Bathrooms
Bathroom seat with a view; That's right! The all-new A-380 is trying to make air-travel fun again, with a bathroom with a view. But Airbus is not the only commercial aircraft company, which has their shit together.
Several Facts to Obtaining Cheap Airfares
AirfaresNeed a vacation but dont want to stay around town? Want to go somewhere exotic, somewhere different? Want to fly but worried about the airfare? Sourcing the cheapest airfare available has been made easier with competition growing between travel agencies as people realize that a vacation need not be all that expensive. Airfare can be a hindrance to the best of vacation plans but it need not be.
Finding the Cheapest Airfares
To find the best airfares, it takes a series of actions to be accomplished during the same period of time. Airfare rates change suddenly online, so when you see a price that you are comfortable with, grab it.
Budget Airlines - Cheap Airfares for Flights around Europe can Reduce Your Vacation Costs
Here's a good tip to help cut the cost of flying to many European cities and make your dollar go a little bit further.With the current high value of the euro, it has become increasingly expensive for Americans to take a vacation in Europe.
Getting Cheap Airfares
Airlines offer tickets at a fraction of the cost you buy tickets. These offers are given to wholesalers and agencies that bring good business to them.
Airport Travel Tips: Reducing Waiting Times
Key Travel TipsFollowing these tips will help you reduce your wait time at the security checkpoint.Before you go to the Airport? Do not pack or bring Prohibited Items to the airport.
Concorde Crash Conspiracy - It Could Have Been Prevented
In studying the Concorde crash the investigators determined it was caused by debris on the runway, which had fallen off a Continental Airlines Aircraft, which went down the same runway prior to the Concorde. Some thought the crash was an International Terrorist Attack.
Airline Fuel Costs Mount
The airlines are huge users of fuel. Fuel costs are higher than even the cost of the aircraft.
Common Cockpit Concepts and Convenient Configurations
One of the big pushes in aviation and military is to have common cockpit designs, which are ergonomically correct. The Common Cockpit Initiative (CCI) would mean all aircraft have basically the same cockpit; all the instruments would be in the same place, the seats in the same place, in fact nearly everything would be the same.
Airbus A-380 is Pretty Big
You know the Airbus A-380 is so huge it takes 2 hours to load and unload and that is if you are rushing the people on and off like cattle. The aircraft holds more fuel than a Boeing 727 weighs.
Fighter Jet Trainers Sport Planes
You want a fighter jet as your personal aircraft; do not deny it. You want to travel faster than the speed of sound and play Top Gun in the sky.
Find Cheap Tickets From all the Major Airlines
All of the major airlines are now associated with different web sites allowing for you to find discount airfare and cheap tickets on the internet. One of the reasons the airlines have done this is because so many people now have access to computers and the internet.
Sex in a Cessna, Part III
So far we have learned the safety aspect of setting the aircraft up in non-restricted airspace, with auto-pilot and away from other aircraft traffic. Now we will describe sexual positions, which will help you maintain controlled flight without restricting visibility.