Don't let jet lag spoil your holiday

Unfortunately, the human body wasn't designed to travel rapidly across multiple time zones. When we do, our body clock is disrupted, and it's hard to readjust to new times without losing sleep, and feeling disorientated and weak for a few days. We asked real women for their top tips on how to ease jet lag.

Give in and sleep

‘I just sleep to get rid of jet lag. First I make sure I'm well rested before jet off, I try to get flights that don't mean getting up ridiculously early, and I sleep on the plane if I can. And then on my last few long-haul trips, I've arrived in London at about five or six am, got home at about 11am and slept all day, got up for dinner and gone back to sleep all night. This is the opposite of what people tell you to do, but I find that forcing myself to stay awake until a ‘normal' time just makes it worse.'
Amy
● Read 10 ways to get a good night's sleep

Try melatonin

‘I swear by melatonin [a natural compound which helps regulate sleep cycles, only available as a medicine in the US, where you can buy it over the counter in pharmacies]. I sleep on the plane, and then I try to stay awake until at least nine or ten pm local time if I can manage. Then I pop a melatonin and that seems to help me sleep through. If I do wake up wide awake at 3am, I have another melatonin pill, and quite often within 30 minutes I drift back to sleep.'
Cathy

Begin the time change before you travel

‘I have always found that switching to the local time in the country I am going to a day or so before I catch the flight really helps me to adjust. I always deliberately plan a meeting or dinner reservation so that I have to stay awake and switch onto local time.'
Sam

Break the journey

‘If you go to Australia or New Zealand, take a day in Singapore - if you can break the journey it makes a huge difference, especially if you're flying with children. You're just much less exhausted by the end if you've had a chance to walk around in the fresh air and get a really comfortable rest halfway through the journey, and it gives the body longer to adjust to the time change.'
Patricia

Take ginseng

‘A friend of mine who's an air hostess suggested I take Siberian ginseng with me on my long trips. The supplement helps increase your stamina and fight the fatigue you inevitably feel. By boosting energy levels in this way - rather than relying on quick fixes like caffeine - I can cope with the tiredness. On days when I have jet lag and have had just four or five hours' sleep the night before, I really feel the difference.'
Lucy

● Try Nature's Best Siberian Ginseng, £9.95 for 60 tablets from< www.naturesbest.co.uk

Eat healthily

‘Plane food is usually rather unhealthy - those rock-hard white bread rolls, packets of Pringles and glasses of wine - and I find that not eating it helps me deal with jetlag. I think over-processed plane food messes with your hydration and blood sugar, and contributes to that weird feeling you get with jetlag. It's better to bring your own healthy snacks like pieces of fruit, and drink plenty of water and fruit juice to keep you hydrated.'
Sarah

Make yourself at home

I've read that the low feeling of disorientation you get with jet lag can be helped by making yourself as comfortable and ‘at home' in your destination as possible. So I always make sure I know I'm going to a nice hotel or apartment when I arrive, preferably by taxi!

When I get there, I have a snack I've brought from home or go to a restaurant I know, and I sprinkle some lavender oil on the pillow and enjoy a bath, rather than feeling I have to rush out and start taking in new things immediately. This seems to help with the emotional dislocation of jet lag.'
Janet

Go west

‘If at all possible, I try to avoid flying east, because doing so means you have a shorter day. At least if you're flying west (from London to New York, say), the day is longer, so if you aim to arrive in the early evening, you just have to stay awake a few extra hours. I find that far easier than having a shorter day in which I am trying to fall asleep when I am wide awake.'
Sophie

Take a few days of extra holiday

‘Ideally, after travelling across the world, give yourself a week off work to recover - they say it takes a day to readjust for each time zone hour you've crossed. I didn't have enough time to recuperate when I flew back from Ecuador to Britain - and getting up at 7am to go to work within 48 hours of arriving back was quite hard!'
Adrienne
● Read about Adrienne's trip of a lifetime in the Galapagos islands

Exercise outdoors when you arrive

‘I find that plenty of exposure to bright light in the early morning, local time, helps. If you walk around in the fresh air, the sunlight starts to recondition the body to believe it's daytime, Plus, exercise done early on in the day leaves you comfortably knackered, and more likely to sleep a deep sleep at night.' 
Jessica

Try an Alpha Pod

‘My biggest problem is that I cannot sleep on planes. Listening to an alpha pod [an audio programme you listen to which claims to send brainwaves into sleep mode: www.the-alpha-matrix.com] has changed my life. I get settled, have a quick bite to eat and drink plenty of water, and then in go the earphones and I am sleeping comfortably within five to 10 minutes.'
Roberta

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