Coffee, alcohol…action movies? Here are the new rules of beating sleepless nights
Frequent fliers may confess to knowing the secret to not getting caught in long customs queues at airports, and your friends probably have a dozen tips on how to pack lightly when traveling from one end of the country to another. But no matter what, even if you’re a seasoned or novice traveler, jet lag is most definitely something no one knows how to conquer.
Jet lag is a common sleeping disorder that occurs when a person travels across multiple time zones. The symptoms usually include feeling drowsy during the day, having sleepless nights, and just feeling grumpy either during or after a holiday–something we all want to avoid so that we can hit the ground running, whether in the south of France, north of Italy, or the outskirts of Australia. While many scientific journals have tips on how to beat jet lag, it’s not that easy. According to The Sleep Doctor, Michael Breus, jet lag happens because our body’s internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, falls out of whack.
“You get jet lag when your circadian rhythms become misaligned with the day-night cycle of your surroundings,” says Breus, who also says that it is worse when traveling west to east. He continues, “It takes time for circadian rhythms to adjust to the light and dark cycles of a new time zone. In order to fully adapt, your body generally needs one day for each hour of difference from your home time zone.”
According to the Sleep Foundation, there are ways to limit the amount of jet lag you have, which include taking melatonin pills to help realign your body’s rhythm, as well as cutting out any coffee and alcohol, but try as you may, this still may not work for many. So, this begs the question: Are there other nasty and weird habits that exacerbate
