What is jet lag?
Well, the scientific term for jet lag is desynchronosis; it’s a temporary disorder that causes nausea and fatigue after long flights. Anyone who has flown through multiple time zones has experienced the confusion that the internal body clock goes through. Your body’s clock doesn’t reset so easily, and after jumping through time zones, your body struggles to retain the old schedule. You will want to eat when it’s time to sleep and you’ll want to sleep when it’s time to head out for lunch. You’ll find yourself floating through activities in zombie-mode.
But this doesn’t have to be your fate. Having worked with numerous travelers at our Raleigh car service, we have found that you can’t avoid jet lag altogether. But the following approaches to air travel can help you minimize the symptoms significantly.
Get Enough Rest the Night Before
A lot of people will embark on their journey after sleeping just for a few hours the night before. This could be due to last-minute packing, pre-holiday excitement, or even a deliberate attempt to accumulate fatigue in order to sleep through their flight. Wrong move!
Making sudden changes to your routine will make it even harder to adjust to a new time zone. Instead, getting enough rest the night before your flight will equip you with enough energy to cope with jet lag.
Stay Cool
According to some studies, taking a cold shower triggers hormonal responses in the body similar to what happens when you wake up. Taking a cold shower in the morning after a long flight will jolt your mind and your body back on track. If you happen to arrive at night, however, turn down the air conditioning in your room as you sleep; a cooler room tricks your mind and body into a sleepiness state, ensuring you are well rested and ready to sync into the new routine in the morning.
Drink Water: Shun Alcohol and Caffeine
On a long-haul flight, free wine and cocktails are tempting, but trust us; they will be doing you more harm than good. Alcohol causes dehydration and as you can imagine, even the mildest hangover will only make your jet lag worse. Caffeine, on the other hand, interferes with your sleep patterns and may keep you awake when you are really trying to sleep and sync into the new time zone. Stick to drinking water instead. It will keep you hydrated and beat the dryness, nausea, and bloating that accompanies air travel.
Consider Medication
If nothing really seems to be working no matter what you try, try short-acting sleeping pills. These can help you either sleep through your flight or help you sleep through the first few nights at your new time zone. However, remember that if you take a sleeping pill later than you should, you might extend your sleep later than you should, or even wake up drowsy. This will disrupt your whole sleeping pattern and provoke jet lag-like symptoms, beating the whole point of medication. So, if you must, take medication only as prescribed.
Plan for Transportation
When you get off a long flight, you are groggy, and the only thing you want to do is get to your accommodations. To get there as fast as possible, book airport transportation in advance, so you aren’t stranded at the airport or wondering around trying to find a cab. Booking airport transportation in advance will guarantee that you don’t spend a minute longer than you have to in the airport and that you get to your accommodations fast, settle in, and acclimate to the new environment
If you need airport transportation in Raleigh, our RDU Airport transportation service is what you’re looking for. Our chauffeurs are highly familiar with the city, and our comfortable, luxurious vehicles are the perfect setting for relaxing after a long flight as you are driven to your destination.
