Combine caffeine and naps for jet lag help
Here's what I do to deal with jet lag. I don't go to sleep much before I travel. I think I was a hamster in my past life. I'm the type who wants to get every last project done, every last dish washed, every last chore behind me before I head out the door. I ruminate. I become more compulsive than usual.
Sometimes, I stay up so late that going to bed may not make sense. That's what happened before the good-deed travel Mexico trip. It got to be 4:00 a.m. and I thought, I'm getting up in two hours anyway, so why bother? I slept on the plane on and off, and went to bed early the following night. When I travel across time zones, this staying up late makes me tired enough that the jet lag is not as noticeable. I'm thrown off already, what's a bit more?
When I was living in Singapore, one of my closest friend's parents visited from the U.S. They are the hearty, cross-country skiing type who stay on a scheduled routine. Their answer to jet lag was to go on a long hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve almost as soon as they arrived at our apartment. Our complex edged the preserve which made hiking there pretty darned convenient. They went to bed when they normally do, and seemed not to suffer much. Getting out in the air and sunshine is one way diminish that groggy, disheveled feeling.
There was an article recently in the New York Times that explains how a combination of coffee and naps can help thwart jet lag. I suppose this is what I do, but less scientifically. I always order coffee and a club soda when I fly. Coffee for the boost, and soda water for the hydration. It feels fancier than regular water. Anything one can do to spruce up travel in my opinion.
The photo is of my 2nd cup of coffee on the Southwest flight. It's slightly out of focus, but then, so was I.
Filed under: Hiking, Business, Food and Drink, Stories, Singapore, Airlines, News, Travel Health














Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
May 4th 2008 @ 11:13PM
Mark Sloneker said...
Jet lag is an affliction that affects us all differently. I travel to Laos to teach quite often. It is 26 to 30 hrs of travel to get there so jet lag is a given. I only use coffee when I need to but the napping thing is what I found to be most important, and a glass of wine before bed.
The first step that works for me is to sleep on the plane as much as possible. This used to be difficult for me, I'm 6'4" and they don't make seats that fit. The head rest wasn't at the head in most cases. I helped this out with a large neck roll.
The other issue was I'm a light sleeper. This was helped with an investment in sound canceling headphones. I don't have them plugged in most of the time, just on. With these accessories I can get some decent sleep.
When I have to transfer planes during layovers I walk constantly around the airport instead of sitting. This gets all the blood back where it should be and burns enough energy that I can get a couple winks on the next leg.
On the ground I structure my day to allow for mid day naps, and on the first days might take a quick nap before dinner. Only need 15-30 minutes to restart the day. Usually after 4-5 days I don't need the nap time.
This is the formula I found to create the most productive uptime in that first week. Working with the school to set up handcraft co-ops http://www.orijyn.com allows me to create my schedule, which may not be everyones case, but you can always find time for a quick nap.
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May 4th 2008 @ 11:17PM
Jamie Rhein said...
Great tips, Mark
I think the walking around does help quite a bit. Setting up handcraft workshops seems like a terrific job.
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