Our bodies are built with an internal clock that makes the body familiar with the times we wake up, sleep, eat, rest and work naturally. Once you travel to a destination that has a huge time difference from your hometown, that clock gets shaken up causing you to experience symptoms like lethargy, muscle soreness, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, irritability, memory problems, plus irregular periods for females. In other words, you’re experiencing a jet lag.
Jet lag isn’t something serious and will pass after days. You may or may not experience it, but if you’re about to go in a different time zone, here are some ways you should do to get rid of the jet lag fast (cute cat photos on the way):
1. Adapt your eating and sleeping patterns to your destination’s time zone before your trip.
2. Eat healthily and do regular exercise.
3. Relax. Do everything you can to avoid stress.
4. Stay away from sleeping pills and any over-the-counter medication. Improve sleep naturally.
5. Change your clock or watch to the time in your destination days before leaving to help you get used to the time change.
6. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.
7. Adapt to the new time zone ASAP even if it means staying up late just to match with your destination’s time.
8. Do exercise to fight off muscle fatigue and soreness.
9. Don’t tightly plan your itinerary. Make sure that you have a couple of days to spend lightly and be comfortable with the new time, surroundings and climate.
10. Pre-book a private room for yourself for the first couple of days to adjust with the new time zone. After some days, you can come back to your usual backpacker lifestyle.
When On Earth Magazine is for people who love travel. We provide informative travel guides, tips, ideas and advice regarding places to see, things to do, what to taste, and much more for world travelers seeking their next dream vacation destination.