Tips for beating jet lag #2

Yesterday I told you guys that I’ve been suffering from the worst jet lag I have ever experienced.

Today I thought I would run through a few of the symptoms I have been feeling and a few ways you could try to combat it, both in flight, before and after you board the plane. I also have a pretty awful head cold so my symptoms are lasting a little longer than I would usually like!

Symptoms

Insomnia probably affects most travelers, no matter which way you travel, I am still waking up at 530am-ish (not as bad as day 1 and waking up at 230am!).

Decreased concentration/irritability is another weird side effect, I am the most easy going person you’ll ever meet, but in the past few days I’ve been struggling with small tasks. Sucks.

Headaches have been a surprising one, I thought it was just a lil’ bit of dehydration, but it was only when researching this article I found that it is another side effect. I also never get headaches, so it was a real annoyance for me.

THE WORST SIDE EFFECT of all, is that I have lost interest in food. Not so much appetite, but just no joy in eating. I’ve been finding myself way more indecisive than usual. It’s pretty horrible.

I don’t think this is as bad as it could have been, I did take a few preventative methods to try and kick the butt out of jet lag.

Before your flight:

Try and adjust your bedtime depending on your location, if you’re heading westward, stay up a little later and vice versa the other way.

Avoid caffeine and booze the day of your flight, no matter how tempting, it will just dehydrate you on board.

During your flight

Get comfy if you can! I pretty much wore PJs, but my eye mask, ear plugs and noise cancelling headphones were a lifesaver, and I slept more on this journey than I have on any others.

Pick up some coconut water in the airport. It’s a great way to boost your dehydration levels! Keep drinking water too, though.

Moisturise like a beast (I applied my Clinique Dramatically Different every two hours) and leave make up till just before you land

After your flight

Try and adjust where you can. I landed at 830am, so I had to try and keep myself up for the whole day. I had a small nap around lunchtime, but kept active and stayed up until 9pm.

Maximise your daylight exposure at the right times. Check the wiki article for more info.

Drink loads of water!

Again, I should iterate, usually I am totally fine with lag, but I don’t think that my cold has helped matters! For now I am off for a lovely brunch, in the meantime, enjoy your Friday lovelies!

Have you ever suffered from jet? What are your tips?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, so none of my advice is coming from a medical standpoint, instead it’s from my own personal experiences.

There are also THOUSANDS of articles online, so go do lots of research! If you’re really worried about your symptoms, please seek actual medical advice.