With summer now upon us, many will be flying out to holiday destinations in the next couple of months, and that may bring the problem of suffering from jet lag.
According to the NHS, jet lag is when your normal sleep pattern is disturbed after a long flight which usually improves within a few days as your body adjusts to the new time zone.
Symptoms can include difficulty staying awake during the day or difficulty sleeping at bedtime, tiredness, exhaustion and concentration problems.
It can also sometimes cause indigestion, feeling sick (nausea), constipation, changes in appetite and mild anxiety.
Going on a long-haul flight where you're changing time zones can definitely cause this, so here are some of the best ways to reduce its effects.
How to avoid jet lag on long-haul flights
Airport car parking site SkyParkSecure and ex-airline executive, Andrew Hayward have some suggestions to reduce the effects.
One of these is making sure you carefully choose your flight time out to your destination.
They said: "Making sure you’re prepared prior to your flight is important too – change your watch before boarding to reflect the time once you land.
"If you’re landing at night, try to avoid sleeping so you can rest once getting to your destination – vice versa if it’s the other way around."
Additionally, avoiding substances such as alcohol and coffee before a flight is also useful.
They stated: "Whilst it may be tempting to drink coffee to stay awake or treat yourself to a tipple to celebrate you’re long awaited trip – if you want to try and avoid jet lag, Andrew would advise against it as both can dehydrate.
"Instead – focus on drinking plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated and save the drinks for once you land!"
Meanwhile, the NHS also recommends a number of practices, including drinking plenty of water and keeping active by stretching and regularly walking around the cabin.
Recommended reading:
- Experts share 5-minute passport check everyone should do before travelling
- What to do if your passport gets lost or stolen in the UK or when you're abroad
- The countries you can travel to with less than six months left on your passport
After you arrive they suggest going outside during the day as natural light will help your body clock adjust and change your sleep schedule to the new time zone as quickly as possible.
They recommended not sleeping during the day as that will just make the jet lag effects worse.
Meanwhile, for short trips they say: "If your trip is short (2 to 3 days), you could try not changing your eating and sleeping times to the new time zone, to avoid needing to change your schedule again when you get back."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel