Skip to content
Wellness Blog
6 Tips For Beating Jet Lag While Traveling
Have you ever experienced disturbed sleep? Have you ever experienced disturbed sleep, daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating and functioning, or stomach problems following international travel or frequent flying? If so, then you were likely experiencing the symptoms of jet lag. What is Jet Lag? Also known as desynchronosis or time zone change syndrome, jet lag is a physiological disorder that disrupts your body's circadian rhythms. It occurs when you travel across two or more time zones which results in your body’s internal clock being out of sync with cues, such as light exposure and eating times, of the new time zone. The more time zones you cross, the worse the jet lag will be. Additionally, traveling from west to east is associated with more severe jet lag. It can take up to a full day for each time zone crossed for your body’s internal clock to adjust fully to the local time. Jet Lag Symptoms Symptoms of jet lag vary widely and can be affected by a variety of factors such as number of time zones crossed, age of the traveler, and general state of health. Typical symptoms of jet lag include: Headaches Lethargy Difficulty concentrating Insomnia Loss of appetite Irritability Mild depression Slight confusion Gastrointestinal disturbances Although you may not be able to eliminate jet lag entirely, you can greatly lessen its effects by following 6 simple strategies. 6 Simple Strategies to Prevent Jet Lag While Traveling 1. Stay hydrated – dehydration reduces your body’s ability to produce melatonin, making it hard to both fall asleep and stay asleep when you want and need to. In addition, being dehydrated often makes the symptoms of jet lag much worse. It is recommended that you drink at least 84 ounces of water a day. 2. Avoid alcohol and caffeine – while it may be tempting to try a cocktail to get drowsy or caffeine to stay alert, these two things can contribute to dehydration (see #1) and negatively affect your sleep patterns. 3. Start your trip well-rested – starting your trip out sleep-deprived will make the symptoms of jet lag worse. 4. Simulate your new schedule before you leave – the long-standing recommendation is that if you are traveling east, move your bedtime earlier by 30 minutes per day for a few days prior to your trip and do the opposite if you are traveling west. New research has demonstrated that that changing your meals to match the time in your destination prior to your trip can help synchronize your internal body clock to help beat jet lag. 5. Try melatonin – this substance is released by your body produced when it gets dark to let your brain know that it’s time for your body to sleep. You may find it very helpful to use a supplement containing melatonin to help you sleep at night when your body is finding it difficult to adjust to the new time zone. BrainMD’s Restful Sleep combines melatonin with four other ingredients to help you fall asleep, stay asleep and enjoy a better quality of sleep. 6. Establish your new routine – one of the best ways to combat jet lag is to get in the rhythm of your destination the second you get off the plane. If you arrive in the morning or early afternoon, resist the urge to nap and do your best to stay awake until the local nighttime. Your body may beg for sleep, but stand firm and force your body's transition to the local time. Traveling is so fun and fulfilling, even if it can be a bit exhausting. No matter how challenging, try your hardest to follow these 6 tips and you'll be living like a local in no time!
Learn more
7 Ways To Keep Calm While Preparing For Vacation
Now that summer is officially here, it’s that time of year again…VACATION! You’ve worked hard all year so it’s time for a break and time to relax. Time off is essential to personal wellbeing, professional success, business performance, and more, but nearly half of American employees don't use all of their vacation days each year! Research has even demonstrated that taking a vacation can have similar biological benefits to your health as meditating. In short, vacations are good for your health. So why don’t more people take vacations? Often the reason is that planning and preparing for a vacation is too stressful an experience. It sounds like extra work, having to prepare for vacation. It can be easy to get caught up in the stress of everyday life, even in the summer. How do you transition from a stress-inducing life to relaxation mode? It’s difficult to get into the right mindset, but you can more calmly prepare yourself for vacation if you follow a few simple steps: 7 of the Best Ways to Keep Your Vacation Prep Stress-free 1. Have Realistic Expectations Resist the urge to plan every minute of your vacation and maintain realistic expectations about your trip. Your flight could be delayed. It might rain the afternoon you plan to go jet skiing. Mishaps and meltdowns happen, but they don’t have to ruin a trip. If you expect that things will go less than perfectly, you will be better prepared to handle whatever does happen. 2. Focus On The Positive This can feel "easier said than done," but it's very effective. As mentioned above, a lot can go wrong when you travel. However, as with life in general, negative things won't feel like they have as much power when you notice the silver lining of the situation. For example, if your flight is delayed, focus on how you have extra time to catch up on reading a novel you enjoy. 3. Plan Ahead There is nothing more stressful than realizing the day before you leave that you still haven’t checked the oil level of your car, gone to the bank, bought the extra socks you needed, set up the timer for your house lights, or had your mail held. There are countless vacation preparation checklists available online – download one ahead of time and check items off to reduce your preparation stress. 4. Pack In Advance This might sound overwhelming, since you’re already stressed and still trying to get into the vacation mindset. However, it’s important to remember to work toward your goal of relaxation in advance or you might never get there! Make or download a packing list and begin to assemble necessary items with plenty of time to spare. That way you won’t find yourself running around like crazy the night before trying to get everything together. 5. Get Plenty Of Rest Speaking of the night before your vacation, make sure to get plenty of sleep so that you do NOT travel tired. Certainly, rushing to get everything done before your vacation can leave you worn out. However, navigating unfamiliar roads or airports will be much more difficult and stressful when you are sleep deprived. 6. Know What Works For You You may have heard the tip to clean your house while you’re packing for a vacation so that you aren’t stressed about a mess when you return. While some people might benefit from a little prep work beforehand, it won’t necessarily make re-entry easier for everyone. For others, the prep only adds more stress. The same goes for work. Many folks stress about doing extra work before leaving in hopes of cutting down on the amount they have when they come back. But it seems like there’s always a lot of work when you get back, no matter how you prep. Prioritize and focus on those tasks that have a deadline while you’re gone and put non-pressing items on the back burner. 7. Supplement To Manage Stress Natural relaxation substances can be incredibly effective in helping you manage your stress and feel more calm. Drink some spearmint or chamomile teas. Put dried lavender in a vase near your bed. Use calming essential oil aromas such as clary sage, bergamot, or ylang ylang. Try BrainMD’s Everyday Stress Relief – a nutritional supplement that can help promote a tranquil mind and body while supporting healthy adrenal and cortisol levels. It includes well-studied herbs and nutrients to support your body’s response to stress on multiple levels.
Learn more