Summer is coming up and with many countries now allowing unrestricted travel, it’s time to go abroad again! Many people in the UK will be travelling further afield to make up for lost time, meaning they will be crossing one or more time zones. To make the most of your long-awaited holiday, here are a few tips to beat jet lag so you won’t be too tired to enjoy your trip.

What is Jet Lag?
Jet lag is a temporary sleeping disorder that affects people who have travelled across one or more time zones. The severity of the jet lag will depend on how many time zones have been crossed. Your body has its own 24-hour internal clock, also called its circadian rhythm, that regulates your natural sleep pattern. So whenever you go off your normal circadian rhythm, you may feel tired when you should be awake and feel awake when you should be sleeping.

One of the best ways to deal with jet lag effectively is to adjust to the local time zone as soon as possible. If it is daytime when you land, stay awake as long as possible- even if it’s past your bedtime back home. If it’s nighttime, try to wind down by doing your normal nighttime routine and get some sleep.

This will help you get a full night’s sleep so you can wake up in the morning refreshed and ready for your day.

Link Between Jet Lag and Eating Times
In addition to adjusting your sleep schedule, you should adapt your mealtimes to those of where you are travelling. Travelling can make you feel very hungry, but try to wait for the next local mealtime to indulge in local delicacies. Your circadian rhythm is affected by when you eat, so if you eat during the local mealtimes your body will have an easier time to adjust.

For maximum effect, many people opt to start trying to adapt to local time zones before their trip. If this isn’t practical for you, you should avoid caffeine and alcohol before your trip and whilst you’re travelling.

Other Ways to Beat Jet Lag
Travelling can be very dehydrating, especially if you travelled by plane. Drink plenty of water during your travels and after your arrival because jet lag can be made worse by dehydration.

Turn your devices off when it’s time to go to bed. The blue light from our electronic devices can throw off your circadian rhythm which is why it’s recommended to turn off your devices at least an hour before bedtime.

Use earplugs and a sleep mask when you go to sleep to help keep out any distractions. Comfortable PJ’s can help get you relaxed enough to sleep, too.

You can also take medications for jet lag. Melatonin tablets are a tried-and-true jet lag medication that will help you get to sleep. Melatonin is a hormone your body produces naturally at night that makes you feel sleepy. The amount of light you get during the day impacts melatonin production as does your body clock so when you travel, your melatonin production gets thrown off.

Melatonin tablets will provide you with the melatonin you need for a good night’s sleep. Before your next trip, visit Pharmacy Planet to buy Melatonin (Circadian) 2mg tablets online.