Jet Lag

This post is specifically for all the wineo’s out there. I keep reading the words of a kill joy, ‘Avoid alcohol’ when flying long haul.

Other than avoiding constant trips to the aeroplane loo, I don’t really understand why a cheeky wine on the plane would give me jet lag.

So, let’s get informed and uncover whether limiting alcohol on the plane is a fallacy or a farce when looking for a jet lag remedy.

When flying, the effect of alcohol on the body is multiplied at altitude.  This means that drinking small amounts of alcohol can compound tiredness and intensify hangovers upon arrival. Research has shown the impact of alcohol on the body to be approximately 2-3 times more potent when you’re flying.  This means for one glass of wine in flight, has the same impact as if you had had three glasses of wine on the ground.

As you also probably know alcohol is a diuretic.  This means that it squeezes water from cells and dehydrates the body. Additionally, alcohol is a depressant and the substance disrupts the clarity of the brain.

All of the above facts contribute to a person’s general feeling of jet lag.  It may also extend the period with which the body takes to adjust to the new time zone.

The choice is yours on how to tackle the possibility of jet lag.

Remember, there are over the counter jet lag remedies available, such as RevitaJet which has been proven for efficacy and is developed to European standards (so it is a supplement which actually works).

Happy Flying!!

Want to avoid a holiday when all you want to do is sleep?

Does this sound familiar… it’s the time of year, when you can’t concentrate on work. You leave on a midnight flight. You have chosen the red eye flight as you want to maximise your time at your destination. You arrive at your destination with anticipation and excitement. The only problem is that you’ve been flying for half a day and it’s now 8:00am at your destination and you’re tired.

You can’t wait to check into your accommodation to do only one thing – sleep.

Here are a few jet lag remedies which might help you out:

1. Hydrate!!! Drink plenty of water. Please have a look at my post about dehydration. It’s essential as a jet lag remedy to keep the fluid intake high!

2. Cut down on stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol. Although on long haul flights caffeine and alcohol may be plentiful, try and avoid them as they also dehydrate your body.

3. Eat lighter. Try not to eat just because you are bored. Due to the cabin pressure you may actually feel more bloated if you eat a heavy meal.

4. Try and sleep on the plane. Often this is easier said than done. Make sure you take all the essentials which will help you sleep. On low cost airlines you might have to bring your own ear plugs, eye mask and blanket. All of these items you may find very worthwhile for a long flight.

5. Try RevitaJet an over the counter jet lag remedy.

Have a Happy Holiday!!! Happy Flying!!!

As a frequent flyer, I have loads of tips for you!!! I have spilled my guts with the knowledge I use every time I fly.  To make things really easy, I have split my best 16 jet lag tips into the following categories:

• Flight selection,
• Before you leave,
• On the flight, and
• When you arrive.

Overall,  jet lag can ruin your trip, if you are overly concerned about jet lag, you can use over counter jet lag remedies, for example, RevitaJet.

Happy flying!

16 Jet Lag Tips

Flight Selection

1.    Choose your flight times

This tip might sound simple enough but it is often overlooked especially if you are hunting down sale fares.

Don’t let emotion and greed overcome your common sense.  There is usually a reason why one fare might be cheaper than others.  Sometimes airlines haven’t got enough passengers on particular flight. Or there are instances where sale fares are available due to the airlines cheaper scheduled times; often this means annoying departure or arrival times.

Look at the arrival time, what time will you be getting to your destination?

If you are getting there at 8:00 am in the morning after a twelve hour flight, will you even be able to check into your hotel?

Often it’s easier, to select a flight which arrives at approximately 3-4pm.  The advantages are:

• Missing peak hour traffic on the way to your hotel
• Check in times for hotels are often after 2pm
• You may have enough energy and adrenalin to stay awake until a reasonable bed time which will help you regulate your natural body rhythm.

2.    Choose the shortest flight length for long haul flights

You have probably compared your long haul flight on price, but what about flight time?

Don’t assume all flights to a particular destination take the same amount of time.

Although an aeroplane does have the fuel capacity to take you to the other side of the world, they almost always have a layover.

Compare the flight length as if the layover time hasn’t been mentioned they can range from three, five, seven hours or even over night!

3.    Stop Over – is it possible?

If you are travelling across many time zones to the other side of the world, you may help your internal body clock by getting out and having a brief stop over.  You will have the opportunity to reset your body clock and it won’t be as painful at your final destination.

4.    Get Good Seats –  Reserve them, Check in Online or Get to the Airport Early

Don’t leave your seat selection up to fate or the kindness of the person who is behind the check in counter.

If you have the opportunity to reserve a seat when you are booking, it is often worth the extra cost.

If you don’t want to pay any additional money then often web check in is open 48 hours before flight departure. Or get to the airport and be the first in the queue to get good seats.

Things to consider when booking seats:

• Toilet proximity – smells, people bumping you as they queue for the toilet, the noise and light of the door which continually opens and closes which disrupts your sleep
• Leg room – often you will have little space to stretch out. You may be able to optimise this with good seat selection.
• Being stuck in the middle of strangers is not the ideal way to get some rest on a flight.
• Sitting by the window (you can lean against it) versus sitting on the aisle (you can get out of your seat and walk the aisles)
• Television screens – depending on whether you are flying a low cost airline or not, some of the older aircrafts or shorter long haul flights do not have screens in the backs of the seats.  You probably want to watch the show to alleviate your boredom on a long haul flight.

Before You Leave

5.    Exercise – Tire Yourself Out

Exercise before the flight.  You will be sitting down for a long time on a long haul flight.

At the airport choose to walk or take the stairs rather than taking moving sidewalks or escalators.

Tire yourself out and it may help you to sleep.

6.    Pack carefully for the plane.

Airport restrictions are getting tighter.  In some countries you can only have one piece of carry on hand luggage. This includes handbags! Also, there are often tight liquid restrictions until you have cleared security.

Essentials for the plane are:

• Wear comfortable clothing, even if you change on the plane, loose fitting pants and top.
• Wear layers – often the temperature on the plane is unpredictable, it can be too hot or it can be too cold.
• Take a sweater –  the plane can be very cold and often the blankets provided are too thin.
• Eye mask – an absolute essential. If you have an avid reader next to you and they may turn the light on. Or if you are stuck next to the toilet door, the lights can regularly go on and off.
• Ear plugs – essential to get some sleep.  You may have screaming children or drunk and obnoxious passengers near you on the plane.
• Headphones – the in-flight radio or in-flight movies are often a great distraction on the plane if you are trying to stay up.
• Water bottle – you can’t take liquids through security but what about afterwards? On long haul flights often attendants are busy but don’t be scared to ask for water.
• Wet wipes – you can take them on the plane and they are great if you spill some food or you just want to wash your face.
• RevitaJet – take two capsules before flying.  It’s safe, and will help initiate sleep on the flight and assist you in regulating your internal body clock.  You won’t wake up feeling drowsy.

On the Flight

7.    Hydrate

Drink fluids and avoid dehydration for when you arrive. Drink non-carbonated fluids like juice or water on the plane.  It is often possible to buy a large bottle of water after the security check and take it on the plane, often it’s easier than harassing the flight attendants for water. Often the flight attendants seem busy but if you don’t have a bottle of water, don’t be afraid to ask them for a drink.

8.    No Alcohol

Alcohol is a known diuretic and it dehydrates you. The pressurized cabin also amplifies the effects of alcohol. You do not want to arrive at your destination hung over as it won’t help you tackle jet lag.   The best solution is to avoid alcohol before and during your flight.

9.    Avoid Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant and often has the initial affect of keeping you alert.  This may be frustrating when trying to sleep on the plane.  It is often best to avoid caffeinated products such as coffee, tea, cola and chocolate.  RevitaJet does not contain caffeine but many over the counter drugs and weight control aids do contain caffeine.

10.     Talk to your Flight Attendant about Sleeping

Try and get some sleep on the plane if you can. RevitaJet assists the initiation of sleep and can assist with up to 15 nights of jet lag recovery. For the premium airlines you can often talk to the flight attendant about getting a sticker placed on the back of your chair which says something to the effect of, ‘please do not wake me up for food.’

This means though, don’t order special meals for the plane journey if you do not want to get woken up.

11.    Flight diet

Eat when you are hungry and not when you are bored.  Keep in mind that there have been studies regarding eating the aeroplane food which is often plentiful.

The circadian rhythm shifts to match food availability. Skipping aeroplane meals and fasting for an extended period of time may help ease jet lag.

Scientists swear by avoiding food on the plane completely and especially if you are not hungry.  Eat as soon as you arrive may assist regulating your circadian rhythm and avoiding the overall effects of jet lag.

When you Arrive

12.    Get Active and Promote Your Adrenalin

If you are arriving in the day time, get active, whether you are sight seeing or attending a meeting, the adrenalin will help you stay away. Also, if you exercise at night, for example, go for a brief walk, it will help you tire out inducing sleep.

13.    Power Nap

If you must sleep, have a brief power nap.  Remember your body is fighting to keep its regular internal cycle.  If you need a quick boost of energy, nap but not for too long, no longer than forty five minutes.  The intention of the power nap is to give you the energy to refresh you enough to help you stay awake until the appropriate bed time.

14.    Diet Do’s

If you need to stay up during the day eat foods which are high in protein as they will help you stay awake.  However, if you arrive and need to sleep in a few hours because it’s night time try to increase your carbohydrate intake. Some people swear by eating foods with tryptphan (turkey, chicken, rice, whole grains and lentils etc). A top tip is to try and stay away from processed foods.

Remember that caffeine can cause different reactions including stimulating you for a short but often not sustained period of time.  However, following this you probably will experience a drop in your blood sugar levels and your energy reserves.

15.    The Art of Sleeping

To regulate your circadian rhythm, try to stay awake until at least eleven o’clock in the evening.   Make sure your sleeping space is comfortable and quiet enabling you to get a good nights rest.

16.    Bright light in the Morning

When you arrive at your destination and you eventually go to bed, open your curtains. Let the light shine into your room helping you wake up.

There are proven scientific experiments where bright light assists people with jet lag in resetting their habitual natural rhythms.

Jet lag is often prolonged due to having your regular sleeping habits. Jet lag is often amplified as the body tries to fight to keep old sleeping routines and habits, which means feeling alert or sleepy at inappropriate times when arriving at a new destination. External factors such as bright light help stimulate and regulate the body rhythm.

The best tip is to open the curtains and get into the sun light.

Eek!

Yes, the term jet lag is a colloquialism.  It’s been dumbed down for us common non medics.

Doctors would refer to the term jet lag as ‘desynchronosis’ or ‘time zone change syndrome’ and it’s classified as a ‘circadian rhythm disorder’.  It is a physiological condition which occurs when there is an alternation to our body clock (the circadian rhythm).  Jet lag is a direct result from crossing multiple time zones on an aeroplane.

When travelling to a new time zone, our internal body clock is disrupted and our wake and sleep patterns take time adjusting to the new environment.  The more time zones crossed, the more disruption there is to our internal body clock as it is unaccustomed to the new light or dark pattern at the destination.  The internal body clock dictates our normal eating, hormone regulation and body temperatures. The body has trouble realigning and regulating all of these factors at the same time in the new environment.  Common complaints are feeling fatigued or tired and having low levels of energy. Other complaints also include digestive troubles, headaches, disorientation, grogginess and irritability.

For more on jet lag, refer to the RevitaJet site.

There are many issues travelling long haul and jet lag is just another factor which comes into the equation.  One jet lag remedy is to reydrate or simply to drink water on the plane.

To be honest, I have always viewed long haul travel as a bit of an adventure, my indulgence of the year and I’m excited.  A glass of wine is always like a celebration – right?

But, experts say, hold off on the indulgence!!!  Having that glass of wine actually contributes to jet lag.  In fact, the experts suggest that rather than consuming alcohol we should have water! Not meaning to sound like a whiny kid…but why?

The planes controlled environment contributes to stressing the body and ultimates leads to dehydration.  It is common for the pressurised cabin to have humidity levels of less than 25%. According to QANTAS, this is due to the low humidity levels of the outside air supplied to the cabin.  Low humidity can cause overall dryness, for example, drying to the nose, throat and eyes.    As such your body loses water due, causing severe dehydration.

The jet lag remedy is to  drink lots of water as without sufficient water consumption on board you will suffer from dehydration when you arrive to your destination.

A point to note, is that with the high security systems at airports, you often can’t bring water onto the plane until you have passed through the airports security.  Most airports don’t let you bring liquids (unless they are under 100ml).  However, even if your water bottle is half empty, you still can’t bring it on the plane, as the container is over 100ml.
I personally prefer to have my own water bottle for the plane.  After going through security, you often get the chance to buy a bottle of water.  I would recommend this because sometimes it’s difficult to get sufficient water on the plane.  Many of the low cost, long haul carriers make you pay for water (and they charge an absolute premium).   When flying a premium airline in economy class, the air hosts/esses are run off their feet that sometimes I’ve felt that I’m being a fussy flyer by asking for water too many times.  The point to remember is, if you haven’t been able to bring water on board, water is often provided for free by the airline if you ask for tap water. Give it a go and ask.

You may have drunk cup after cup of water on the plane and you still arrive, tired, cranky and wished that you’d gone on holiday somewhere locally rather than stepping on board a plane.  Sometimes it’s worth being prepared and having something in your bag which might help you out, there are over the counter solutions available such as, RevitaJet which are formulated to help.

I flew to Hong Kong from London using the low cost airline Oasis (when it was still around).  I had a wonderful flight on Oasis, the seats were comfortable, and the whole flying experience was wonderful.  However, I got to Hong Kong and all I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep I did.  I slept for days.

Tiredness overcame me.  As a spring chicken (I would like to think I am anyway), in my twenties, I was astounded at how much I slept.  It was the jet lag. I had crossed at least six or seven time zones.  It takes the body one day per time zone to recover.

Since my Hong Kong trip, I have vowed never to sleep throughout my holiday again. What is jet lag? How can it affect you? What can you do about it?

The medical term desynchronosis is what we call Jet lag.  It is a temporary disorder where a person may have the complaint of fatigue or insomnia.   It occurs because a person has crossed many different time zones and their internal body rhythm (the circadian rhythm) has to adjust to this time zone change.

Generally jet lag can affect you where you might be awake late at night or tired and unable to stay awake, during the day.  Other symptoms include anxiety, irritability, stress, co-ordination problems and potential slight memory loss.

There are many jet lag remedies available, not over eating on the flight, avoiding alcohol on the flight, not napping when you get to your destination, avoiding caffeine, re-hydrating as much as possible and taking over the counter jet lag remedies, such as RevitaJet.