Jetlag

Modern travel often takes us rapidly across many time zones. Our body rhythms take several days to adjust to destination time. Jetlag is the effect of your personal biological system being out of sync with the local time of day. In order to avoid the effects of jetlag:

Be rested
Try to sleep longer in the days preceding your flight.

Preset to destination time
In order to adjust your biorhythms to your destination time go to bed and get up earlier if flying east or go to bed and get up later if flying west. Before taking off, adjust your watch to your destination time.

Shift your diet
The Aragonne National Laboratory has developed a special preflight diet to minimize jetlag, altering days of feasting and fasting, emphasizing high protein meals in the daytime and high carbohydrate meals in the evening. Caffeine advances or retards our internal clocks depending on when you ingest caffeine. In the pre-departure days adjust your internal clock by drinking caffeinated beverages in the mornings , if you were going to be travelling west. If travelling east drink them between 6:00 pm. and 11:00 pm. to help you adjust more rapidly. On the flight day, feast on a high-protein breakfast at your destination's breakfast time.

The Sports Medicine Council of Canada recommends maintaining a low-fat diet, high in complex carbohydrates with no fasting prior to departure.

Adjust medication
Consult your physician regarding needed changes if you take any type of medication such as insulin or oral contraceptives.

Try stopovers
On extremely long trips, such as travelling from Toronto to Hong Kong, consider a day's rest in Hawaii.

Stay hydrated
Avoid dehydration. Aeroplane cabins have very low humidity so drink lots of water and fruit juice. Drink two cups of cool fluids in the hour before departure and at least one cup per hour during your flight. Avoid rich exotic foods on the first few days your trip.

Avoid alcohol, coffee and tea
Avoid alcohol, coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages. They promote dehydration of your body and may contribute to feelings of fatigue and irritability.

Exercise
Exercise on a long flight to avoid backache, swollen feet and legs and general fatigue. Stretch at regular intervals and walk up and down the aisles of the plane from time to time.

Follow destination time
After arriving at your destination, if tired take a short nap but get up and live the rest of the day synchronized with the local time. Eat when local people eat; sleep when they sleep.

Stay active
Exercise and socializing helps reset your internal clock. Take a walk and dine with a friend on arrival to help you adjust, but don't force yourself to operate efficiently as soon as you arrive. Important business or social meetings are best attended later in your trip

Seek out light
Exposure to sunlight helps to reset your internal clock. Spend as much time as possible outdoors for the first couple of days at your destination.