Have you ever wondered how you would feel when you travel to the opposite side of the globe? What does it look like when you travel to a time different than yours? How does it feel when you arrive and see that you arrive at a different time zone? Those are mostly the questions frequently asked by many travelers and for those who are not used to this, they will just suddenly wonder why the feel different when they arrive at a place with a different time zone. If you feel fatigued during daytime, get a lot of disturbed times during your sleep or you get excessive sleeping, you have difficulty functioning at your normal level, your muscle sores, diarrhea, constipation or stomach problems after you have arrived to a foreign place, you may be experiencing jet lag. Jet lag is common amongst travelers although not everyone is affected by it. The symptoms of jet lag gets worse when you get farther to your destination although this will only occur within the day up to the next when at least you have travelled 2 time zones.
Jet lag is only temporary and will go away after a few days but for frequent travelers, it is best advised that they seek medical attention not because they are sick but to prevent more of these symptoms in your future travels.
What do you do to prevent a jet lag worse than before?
- Before you travel, you should eat a healthy, balanced diet, exercise and do a lot of exercise. Depending on where you travel, shift your body clock by sleeping an hour or two earlier when traveling east or one or two hours later when travelling west. Do these a few days before you make your trip out of your country. This will help shift the body clock. If possible, break one of your long trips and make a short stop between flights.
- When you are already travelling, avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine and taking in large amounts of food. You should drink a lot of water. You should also sleep while on the plane if possible and also walk around the airplane when you are in a flight that will last more than 3 hours. Better make sure that you are not disturbing your seatmates when you do this.
When you arrive at your destination, do not make any decisions during the first day and eat the meals appropriate at the local time.