Let’s talk about something we all often have to deal with – jet lag. Our bodies are naturally wired to a 24-hour rhythm which gets scrambled up when we travel across multiple time zones. We start feeling groggy, disturbed, fatigued, or just find it difficult to sleep and concentrate. We can think of jet lag as the feeling you get when your body clock is playing catch up to the actual time. It’s not a great feeling.
One important hormone that helps us keep this body clock ticking smoothly is melatonin. Imagine melatonin as our personal sleep trainer, giving us a gentle reminder to let us know when it’s time to rest. In an ideal world, our melatonin levels rise in the evening, making us feel sleepy, and lower in the morning when it’s time to wake up.
So how does jet lag mess with melatonin? Let’s say, you travel from New York to London, your internal clock would be used to release melatonin according to New York time. So, your melatonin levels would peak when it’s night in New York, but probably day in London, and this makes you feel drowsy at the wrong time. So whenever you feel jet lagged and are unable to fall asleep because of the time zones, try having some melatonin-rich food, supplements or teas like Chamomile. You can also dab lavender oil on the pillow (not the sheet) to induce sleep. It helps a lot of us to get peaceful sleep. You should try it, seriously. And avoid screen time, please.
We have some simple ways that we use to help adjust our body clocks quickly. First up is drinking water, lots and lots of water! It might seem a little simple, but staying well-hydrated can really help reduce jet lag symptoms.
Another tool we’ve found useful is sticking to a schedule. The idea we have is to adopt the local schedule as soon as possible, forcing your body to adapt to the new time zone quicker. The more you can do in daylight, the better! You know that friend that loves to start the itinerary immediately they land, well if it’s daytime over there then maybe you should tag along instead of sleeping in. Our bodies were made to be awake when the sun’s up, and sleeping when it’s down. Following the natural light patterns can help our body adjust to a new time zone.
In our opinion, staying active and stepping out in the sun will not only help your body adjust faster but it’s also an exciting way to kickstart your journey. Instead of falling victim to fatigue and sleeping it off, we think exploring our surroundings, sampling the local cuisine, or engaging in any activity can uplift our spirits and trick our body to adjust much more.
While there’s no magic cure for jet lag, we hope that these little steps make the process a bit more bearable. We think being prepared, drinking lots of water, and staying active are the ways to go.
Because after all, exploring a new destination is too exciting an experience to let jet lag spoil the mood.
