Avoiding Jet Lag

by Ellen Michaud with Julie Bain, TimeSharing Today

For those of us who fly to a resort that is more than a couple of time zones from home - particularly those who fly eastward - jet lag can be a serious challenge. It takes away our edge, makes us groggy, and disrupts our sleep. Here's how to be focused and alert during the day and sound asleep at night.

  • Acclimate

    If you're going to be gone longer than a couple of days, begin acclimating your body to the new time zone by altering your eating schedule three days before your plane takes off. If you're heading west to San Diego from Boston, for example, three days before you leave, eat an hour earlier each day. Flying from San Diego back to Boston? Help reverse the acclimation and get back on home time by eating an hour later each day for three days.

  • Chug

    Stay hydrated with bottled water. Avoid alcohol and anything caffinated during your flight. Both can dehydrate your body, mess up your internal clock, and exaggerate jet lag symptoms.

  • Hit the linguine

    Or any other carb-dense food at dinner on the night before your flight. Scientists have been arguing for some time about whether or not this decreases jet lag and increases your potential for normal sleep, but recent research on clock genes has uncovered subtle effects that indicate carbs boost your ability to sleep - particularly when you fly westward. No one's quite figured out how they help, but they do know that carbs provide your brain with a source of tryptophan from which it can make the sleep-inducing neurotransmitter serotonin.

  • Refrigerate

    If you're flying during what would be night hours at your destination, try to get some sleep on the plane. Use earplugs to eliminate noise, an eyeshade to kill the light, and turn the air-conditioning valve on high. A third cue your body uses to set its internal clock is temperature. A lower temperature lowers your body's core temperature and signals it's time for sleep. A higher temperature raises your body's core temperature and signals that it's time to wake. To keep from getting too chilled, bring along one of those silk blanket-and-pillow sets that are sold through airline and online travel catalogs.

  • Avoid airline food

    A fourth cue your body uses to set its internal clock is food. Since airline food is served onboard according to the time at your home base, eating it can sabotage efforts to reset your clock to the time zone to which you're traveling.

  • Consider the medical option

    Short-acting sleeping pills can help you sleep through an overnight flight. They can also help you sleep during the first couple of nights at your destination. That said, keep in mind that if a sleeping pill is taken just a little later than it should be on local time, it can exacerbate the effects of jet lag. Even worse, if the drug lasts longer than the flight, you'll arrive drowsy at your destination - that's not good if you have to drive or negotiate local transportation home.

  • Consider melatonin

    It's available as an over-the-counter medication and you don't need a prescription. But since it has the ability to really mess with your brain cnsult with a doctor - especially if you're taking another medication. Studies indicate that supplemental melatonin will make you sleepy. It's not s h3 as a sleeping pill, but it directly affects your body's internal clock and nudges it toward sleep. If you're heading east, consider taking one 3- to 5-milligram capsule between 6:00 and 7:00 P.M. on the day you fly out. Take a second capsule after you've arrived at the local bedtime. If you do take melatonin, however, think about taking a cab to your resort and picking up a rental car at the resort rather than the airport. You may be too drowsy to drive safely. If you're headed west, take a single melatonin capsule just before bed at your destination. Do not take it before your flight. Two caveats: Over-the-counter melatonin can come in vastly differing qualities. So buy a well-known brand from a company that guarantees its products. Two, the safety profile of melatonin has not been seriously investigated. So don't think it's something you can continue to use at home on a regular basis.

  • Have the eggs benedict

    A protein-rich meal the morning after you arrive will give your brain what it needs to produce neurochemicals to increase your alertness throughout the day.

  • Stay on the home time

    If you're going to be away from home for only a couple of days, stay on the sam eating and sleeping schedule while you're away as you would at home. If you normally have dinner in Atlanta at 8:00 P.M. for instance, when you fly to Los Angeles, have dinner at 5:00 P.M. You'll not only avoid that dragged-around-by-your-hair jet-lagged feeling, you also won't have trouble getting a good table at the restaurant of your choice.

  • Or, switch immediately

    If you're away for more than just a couple of days, don't just set your watch to local time when you arrive - help reset your internal clock by eating, going to bed, and waking at the local time as well.

  • Make it dark and cold

    But use those heavy room-darkening shades to shut out light during the hours you plan to sleep. Also, lower the room's temperature. Remember, manipulating light and temperature manipulates your body's clock and gives it a clear mandate to sleep.

Happy Traveling!