Jetlag survival 101 – hit the ground running

Jetlag is that revolting discombobulation after a flight through time zones, where your internal clock is out of sync and literally lags behind – even a few hours time difference can lead to you nodding off in the uber on your way to your airbnb.
The New York Times. reports that this internal clock is made up of 20,000 teeny tiny pacemaker cells that lie deep within the hypothalamus region of our brain. Every 24 hours or so these cells synchronize, signaling to the rest of the body whether it’s night time or day time.
These cells are tune win to the light around us and the routine associated with certain levels of brightness — signalling our body to sleep when it’s dark, and move around when it’s light.
But travelling across time-zones throws our pacemaker cells into disarray: Our internal clock is saying “hey it’s breakfast time, where’s the fricken sun?” When our clock can’t be synchronized, we feel fuzzy – or jet lagged.

Beating jet lag is down to our ability to match our brain clock to local time as soon as possible so we can get on with serious holidaymaking.
BEFORE FLYING? PARTAY LIKE A ROCK STAR
Everybody knows its harder to have a super early night than it is to stay up late and sleep in longer (unless you have kids or you’re a weirdo who gets up at 5am to work out). Likewise – if you’ve ever suspected that jet lag is worse travelling in certain directions – you are correct.
Jet lag hits us hardest when we’re flying west to east (as in, going from Perth to Sydney), rather than the other way around. Dr. Michelle Girvan, a physicist at the University of Maryland in the USA explains: “The body’s internal clock has a natural period of slightly longer than 24 hours, which means that it has an easier time travelling west and lengthening the day than travelling east and shortening the day.”

• When planning an east-west trip, book a flight that arrives in the afternoon or early evening so your inner clock can take in the sunset.
• Try staying up later and later each night a few days before your east-west flight.
• If you’re heading east, try going to bed 30 minutes earlier each night and waking up earlier in the morning.

IN THE SKY

Planes fly at upwards of 25,000 feet, and while cabins are pressurised to 8000 feet above sea level – that’s still as high as Mount Everest,  so you’re going to feel the effects of altitude. Added to the mix, cabin air is a low 12-21% humidity, the same as a desert! If you can stay on top of dehydration and germies during the flight, you’ll be sweet as upon landing.

• During take-off, try to swallow more to equalise pressure and avoid ear-popping – sucking a lolly or chewing gum helps.
• DO NOT NAP unless arriving in the a.m.
• Keep your overhead light on to trick your pacemaker cells that it’s daytime, and walk around the cabin to boost circulation.
• Drink 2–3 glasses of water and chug some Hydralyte or Gatorade every five hours to avoid dehydtration.
• Oh – avoid booze and coffeeas they’ll dehydrate you more.
• Take a vitamin supplement like Berocca to boost your immune system.
• Use a saline nasal decongestant every two hours to clear the sinuses and help with cabin pressure.
• Eye drops or an eye mist will hydrate and sooth the eyes – great if you’ve been crying over the inflight movie.
• Skin gets dehydrated as well during flights, so moisturize at least once, even if you have to use the bathroom hand lotion.

AT YOUR DESTINATION

• If it’s daytime, get some exposure to sunlight to set your internal clock to local time.
• Meal times also help to reset your body. Eat breakfast at breakfast time — even if it’s nine p.m. in your head — is a good idea.
• De-stress your body with some light exercise like a casual stroll or a relaxing swim.
• If you arrive in the evening, take a sunset stroll, have dinner and go to bed at your normal hour (in the timezone of your destination – reset your phone to local time!).

HELPFUL APPS
Apps Stop Jet Lag  and Entrain provide you with a light schedule to help you rest your body clock quickly and efficiently, using info on your location and destination, as well as what kind of light you’ll be around en route.