Ten Tips for Dealing with Jet Lag1. Get enough sleep before your trip. If you start your trip with a sleep deficit, jet lag will make it worse and you’ll be miserable. Start out well-rested and it will be easier to adapt to your new time zone. 2. Eat regular, healthy meals. Poor nutrition and random meal times make jet lag worse. They also depress your immune system and make you more vulnerable to illness. There’s not much that’s more miserable than having the flu while you’re jet lagged. 3. Exercise. Exercise regularly for the first few days at your destination. It’s even better if you can exercise out of doors. It helps accustom your body to new time habits. 4. Take sleep medications if you need them. It’s better to take a mild sleep aid when you go to bed in a new time zone than it is to lie awake all night. 5. Try melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates our sleep cycles. Your body won’t be secreting it at the right time if you’re suffering from jet lag. Taking it for a few days until your body has the chance to adjust may help. 6. Allow yourself one day per time zone to adjust. Don’t plan any strenuous activities or long sightseeing days until your body has adjusted to the new time. 7. When traveling east, book an early flight; when going west, book late. This will be most consistent with your normal time zone and cause less disruption to your sleep cycle. 8. Adjust ahead of time. Start changing your biological clock before you leave. As much as possible, change your meal times, exercise times and sleep times to match the new time zone. Make sure your sleeping room is dark and take some melatonin before you go to bed. You can cut the time you experience jet lag considerably by adjusting your schedule ahead of time. 9. Change your watch. As soon as you leave for the new destination, change your watch to that time zone. You will suffer less time dislocation that way. 10. Use sunlight. Natural light—especially if the sun is shining—helps reset your biological clock. Go outside in the afternoon when you travel west, and in the morning when you travel east. This will naturally reset your body’s diurnal rhythms and shorten the time you deal with jet lag.
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