THE thought of a long-haul holiday, far away from the cold UK, can be tempting for some – apart from the jet lag.
But experts have revealed the three day ‘hack’ that is meant to help you get over it much faster on holiday, and not waste any of your vacation time.
Most winter sun destinations are pretty far away, bar a few African islands.
And being far away comes with a tricky time difference to adjust to.
That’s because your internal body clock – also called the circadian rhythm – becomes confused when you change time zones quickly.
This can then result not only in extreme tiredness, but also headaches and stomach aches.
Sleeping patterns as well as eating habits can both be severely affected by jet lag.
According to experts at Go2Africa, there are a few ways to try and avoid the worst symptoms of jet lag.
One is choosing the correct flight time before a long journey.
They advise booking a flight that lets you land between 2pm and 5pm, as it allows exposure to daylight which can help stave off the effects of jet lag.
Not only that, but it also means you have enough time to try and adjust before going to sleep at the location’s natural time.
Otherwise there is also the three-day rule, which you need to do before you even get on a flight.
This is particularly for anyone travelling east, as this is when you are more likely to have to go to bed earlier rather than later.
To try and get used to this, it is advised to adjust your sleep schedule three days before you travel.
This is advised to be as much as one hour per day, so you find it easier to sleep at a more sociable time on holiday.
And this is then the same when flying westwards but instead to sleep an hour later.
Of course this isn’t the easiest, trying to fall asleep earlier than you are used to.
But even as little as 30 minutes per day can still make a difference.
Even the plane you are on could increase or decrease the effects of jet lag.
If you want to go somewhere that is 27C in December but has no jet lag – then we’ve found some great islands.
