Recover from Jet Lag with These Tips

Flying to different time zones can seriously disrupt your sleep schedule. Jet lag is a nuisance both on vacation and afterward when trying to readjust to your early morning work schedule. Follow these simple travel tips to quickly fix your sleep schedule and Recover from Jet Lag.

1. Don’t nap

While a nap can help boost your energy after a rough night’s sleep, it will only hurt you in the long run. Because you’re resting throughout the day, it will be harder to fall asleep at night. Limit yourself to 6-7 hours of sleep at night without any naps throughout the day to recover from jet lag and adjust to your new sleep schedule faster. This may seem tough, but you’ll actually spend less time feeling groggy if you do so. 

2. Avoid caffeine

You can still have your morning cup of coffee, but try to avoid any caffeine in the afternoon or evening. This will ensure that all the caffeine has left your system by the time you try to go to sleep at night. 

3. Light matters

Light affects us more than most people realize, especially when it comes to changing your sleep schedule. Keeping your bedroom or hotel room completely dark can help convince your body that it’s time to go to sleep, despite the actual time of day. Likewise, make your room very bright to alert your body that it’s time to wake up, to help you recover from jet lag.

4. Ditch the gadgets

Looking at an electronic screen can disrupt your sleep schedule a lot. It’s best to avoid all gadgets including your phone, laptop or even the TV 30 minutes before bedtime in order to fall asleep faster and get a better night’s sleep.

5. Stick to a nightly routine

Developing an evening routine can help your body and mind relax and prepare for sleep, but make sure it’s simple enough to stick to everyday. To help your body recover from jet lag faster, curl up with a good book, sip on a cup of caffeine-free tea, soak in an aromatherapy bubble bath or anything that is enjoyable to you. This nightly routine will help alert your body that it’s time for bed, helping you recover from jet lag faster.   

6. Promote peaceful sleep

Disruptive sounds or bright lights can inhibit restful sleep, so it’s important to block out these distractions to help your body recover from jet lag. Everyone is different so determine what your body needs to rest peacefully, whether it is a small dose of melatonin, an eye mask, earplugs or even a quality pillow.

7. Use your bed only for sleep

You may think that watching movies or reading a book in bed sounds relaxing, but it actually will hurt your sleep schedule. You should limit your bed strictly to sleeping. When you do this, your mind will associate your bedroom with sleeping, making it easier to fall asleep no matter what time it is.

As CEO and founder of Unicomm, LLC., John Golicz produces the largest and fastest growing travel trade show series in the United States– the Travel & Adventure Show Series. With nearly 30 years of travel experience, John is an expert on how to travel better, safer, smarter and cheaper.