Being back in Asia now for the second time in 4 months, the topic of Jetlag is pretty top of mind.
Like nearly all of my trips, this one fell into the “Hit the ground running” category
for the pace that I’d be keeping for the next two weeks. With so much to see and do,both daytime and night,
I knew that the last thing I’d want to deal with was fighting off the late afternoon sleepiness or pre sunrise wake up calls of Jetlag.
Even worse, returning home when I have to jump right back into my work routine,
where this battle seems that much greater of a challenge, as my day to day routine is so much less inspiring to fight that urge to sleep.
Having mastered the Hop Across The Pond Jetlag Challenge years ago, I’m now
determined for my Opposite Ends Of The World Theory to work out quite well.
I’ve put together some quick tips on how to win this battle against The Almighty
Jetlag whether you’re making the Hop Across The Pond or traveling to Opposite
Ends Of The World.
Begin going to bed and waking up early a few
days prior to your departure date.- Enjoy a wine or two early on in the flight while watching a
movie and eating your dinner meal service. - A little tipsiness can always help induce sleep a few hours early.
- Keep hydrated by drinking lots of water. There’s nothing worse than
disturbing your precious hours of in flight sleep by waking up due to dry mouth. - Try to go to sleep for at least 2-3 hours right after the meal service is complete. This instantly starts your body on a European Sleeping clock.
When arriving to your destination, take a 3 hour nap immediately at your
hotel, then stay up until the normal bedtime planned
for your trip.
- Begin staying up late and sleeping later a couple ofdays prior to your departure. For me this is my normal
European schedule, so it works well. - Nap a bit on the plane flight if you desire.
Go to bed at the normal time, which will feel really late, but it will force you back onto your North - American sleeping schedule. Ok, ok, in all honesty, you may wake slightly earlier than normal, but that’s not too bad.
- Begin staying up late a few nights prior to departure and if you have an
early morning departure, pull an “All-Nighter”. Trust me, the few hours of
sleep that you would get would not be quality prior to an early flight anyways. - Once boarding the plane, keep hydrated and go to sleep. You’ll be going to sleep nearly on Asian time immediately.
- Try to sleep 6-8 hours total before landing, and make sure to do the
majority of your sleeping in the early part of your flight, even if it does
require the occasional wine or alcoholic beverage to aid the process.
You’re immediately putting your sleeping clock onto an Asia schedule. - When you arrive, follow a normal schedule without napping, but allow
yourself to sleep an extra hour or two your first night.
- Only allow yourself to sleep 4-5 hours maximum your final night in Asia.
- This will ensure that you’ll be tired and able to sleep easily on your next
day’s flight. - Enjoy 1 or 2 movies and the meal service as well as a wine or two if
needed during the first couple of hours of the flight, typically early morning - Asia time / early evening North American time. Don’t forget hydration!
- Try to sleep 6-8 hours in the middle of the flight, following the time that
would be accurate for your sleeping schedule at home. - When arriving at home, allow yourself to nap 2 hours maximum tha
t afternoon, then go to bed slightly later than normal, to help ensure that
you’ll wake at as close to a normal, post sunrise, hour as possible. - You will wake very early your first few mornings and suffer from
sleepiness in the late afternoons no matter what, but stick to your normal
routine as much as possible, without napping beyond that first day home
and your battle with Jetlag will soon be over.
You have to experience the power of the enemy before you’re able to defeat them, so yes, that is me in the image above, losing my battle to Jetlag my first day in Thailand back in December.
Let my personal defeats serve to ensure that your trip to foreign lands will not be plagued by Jetlag, and your return to your routine back home will be as smooth as possible.
What can I say? Was it really learning the hard way allowing the Jetlag to get the best of me while receiving a manicure and pedicure? Clearly my situation could have been worse!
Jetsetter Gypsy 
One response to “Gypsy Vs. Jetlag”
Thank you Elana!
I’m happy to receive your positive feedback and know that you found this post helpful!
Stay tuned for more!
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