Staying physically fit through diet, exercise and rest can lower your susceptibility to jet lag, according to the Traveler's Health Yellow Book. Also, moving around during plane travel lessens symptoms of jet lag.
Avoiding alcohol and caffeine and drinking plenty of water during a flight can help. Dehydration worsens the symptoms.
Sleep is intricately linked with your body's internal clock. Get plenty of sleep before and during a trip for jet lag prevention. Get to sleep earlier prior to a trip in which you are traveling east and later if you plan on traveling west. When you board the plane, set your watch to the time you'll be using at your destination. While traveling, try to maintain a sleep schedule that is appropriate for that destination.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends the use of sleep aids to prevent and cure jet lag symptoms. Non-addictive sedatives can help promote better sleep.
If it is an option, taking a trip more slowly will give your body time to adjust to changes in time zones. Stopovers can give your body time to catch up, and traveling by ship is better than plane for jet lag prevention. This is especially true if you're crossing many time zones.
Acclimate yourself to the time zone of your destination country before you leave your own. Adjust your meal and sleep times to those you'll be practicing at your destination. If you're going on a short trip, however, for instance less than two days, it's better to stick to home time. Expose yourself to sunlight as much as possible after your arrival, and eat and sleep on schedules appropriate to that country.
Both melatonin and bright light have been used to reset circadian rhythms, or the body's internal clock.
Melatonin is a hormone associated with sleep and circadian rhythms. Between 3 and 5 mg of melatonin can help you to fall asleep at the appropriate times according to your destination. Melatonin has been found to help the blind synchronize their circadian rhythms, according to Christian Nordqvist of "Medical News Today."
Exposure to bright light can help reset the body's internal clock. But timed exposures require a lot of motivation and strict compliance, warns Emad Yanni of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A 2005 study published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" has found that a combination of light box therapy and melatonin supplements can help prevent jet lag. A 0.5 mg dose of melatonin along with intermittent bright light can advance the body's circadian rhythms and act as jet lag cures.
Another jet lag cure may be as simple as wearing sunglasses. Researchers from Edinburgh Sleep Centre have found that westward travelers who wore sunglasses recovered much faster from jet lag than those who did not. Westward travel lengthens your day; traveling east shortens your day. Recovering from eastward-associated jet lag is more difficult than recovering from westward-associated jet lag. The Edinburgh researchers have devised a chart that contains recommendations for sunglasses wear, depending upon your trip.
