January 26, 2007
Thirteen Facts and Tips about Jet Lag
- Jet lag is a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones.
- Symptoms besides exhaustion and insomnia include disorientation, swollen hands and feet, headaches, nausea and lightheadedness.
- The older you are, the more intensely you feel the effects of jet lag. I’m feeling rather old right now.
- The effects of jet lag are worse when flying west to east than east to west. Guess which direction we flew.
- Don’t depart exhausted. I did because our Thursday flight was cancelled and I did not sleep well that night.
- Drink lots of water on the plane. I drank coke. Huge mistake. Did you know that you can go to the back of the plane and get something to drink at any time? You don’t have to wait for the flight attendants to come to you. You might get fussed at if the fasten seat belt sign is on.
- Set your watch to your new destination. I did this and it does help mentally but not physically.
- Sleep on the plane as soon as possible. I only slept for the last 20 minutes of our third flight.
- Choose a window seat if you want to sleep. That way people will not have to jump over you when they want to get out and you won’t be bumped by every person passing by.
- Walk around when you can. Do light stretching exercises while seated. Of course, if you choose a window seat, you may also have to do some jumping.
- When you reach your destination, start eating and sleeping according to the new time zone. Yeah right. If I could sleep according to the new time zone, I wouldn’t have jet lag, would I?
- Get as much light as possible. Natural sunlight is best. We did take a short walk our first couple of days here. Now it’s cloudy and rainy.
- Time heals all wounds, including jet lag. It takes at least one day for every time zone crossed to recover from jet lag. I slept through the night last night for the first time in a week. We only crossed 8 time zones so I hope I’ll be back to normal soon!
Comments
January 26, 2007 - This was very informative
Posted by jewls2texas
Thanks for sharing this with us -
I hope you will be back to yourself soon!
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January 26, 2007 - Sleep
Posted by TheChinaPainter
I prayed for you to all be able to sleep through the night last night. I hope this means that your sleep routine has recovered.
Mom
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January 26, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Bioluminescence
I probably would have slept through the entire trip. I can sleep anywhere and through anything it seems. I can sympathize with your stress over getting everything packed up, though. I am a worry-wart when it comes to packing. I grew up with a mother who packed the entire house into our car just to go on a camping trip. If you needed it, she had it. I have finally figured out that, if I need it, they will usually have it at a store wherever we are headed. Of course, that isn't the case for you. I'd be a basket case knowing full well that there wasn't a Stuf-Mart near my final destination. :p I hope you are recovering and have loved ones who are willing to send you whatever it was you forgot. God bless you and your family!
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