Common symptoms of jet lag are fatigue, discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea, sleep disorders (especially when there is a large difference between destinations), mental disorders, loss of concentration, and even memory loss. Although this condition does not last long, it causes great hindrance to passengers, especially those traveling for short-term purposes such as business trips, tourism, etc. Taking a long time to rebalance will make work efficiency as well as the journey not as expected.
Jet lag doesn't last long, but it can have a big impact on your trip. Photo: The Sunday times
West-to-east flights are more severe than the opposite direction and take longer to recover from. Theoretically, the time it takes for your body to return to equilibrium is proportional to the number of time zones the flight passes, but typically, for westbound flights, it takes about a day and a half, and for eastbound flights, you should be back to normal in about a day and a half.
How to prevent jet lag:
- Drink enough water before and during the flight.
- Limit alcohol and caffeine intake 3-4 hours before bedtime, as well as when boarding the plane. Caffeinated drinks will make your jet lag worse.
- Do light exercise and physical training about a week before the flight to help your body get used to the new changes. Stand up, walk around, and stretch whenever possible while on the plane. This reduces the risk of muscle fatigue and swelling caused by sitting too long.
- Use lavender, rosemary, and green tea essential oils to reduce stress, help the mind relax and stay alert.
- Eat lots of foods containing Melatonin. Melatonin plays an important role in balancing and regulating the body's sleep-wake rhythm, ensuring the body gets a good night's sleep and wakes up refreshed the next day. Cherries are rich in melatonin, passengers are advised to eat lots of cherries before going to bed and before the number of days corresponding to the number of hours of the flight.
- You should start your anti-jet lag diet about 4 days before departure. You should increase protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese... in breakfast and lunch. This will stimulate the production of substances that help rebalance the body's biological clock. In this diet, you also need to add foods containing carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, milk... to have a deep sleep after the fatigue of the flight.
- Setting your clock to the correct time zone of your destination will help your brain get used to controlling its activities in accordance with the time of your destination.
- Try to have a natural sleep on the plane, limit the abuse of sleeping pills as much as possible. Because this will make you sleep lethargically or comatose for many hours on the plane, not moving can easily cause local blood clots.
