International Flights and Jet Lag
On international flights lasting more than six hours, I have found a way to avoid jet lag once I am in the new time zone. I don’t do this by sleeping on the plane, or keeping myself awake for 24 hours. For one thing, sleeping on an airplane has become harder to do now that we are watchful for airline terrorism. And, who feels comfortable falling asleep next to a total stranger, anyway? Rather than torture myself with sleep deprivation the day before I travel (or the day after), I’ve had success with a day of relaxation to ease me into a large time zone change. For 24 hours before my trip I make sure I am not at the workplace or needing to perform any home chores. I surround myself with gentle music, good food, entertainment, and a constant mantra to “take it slow.” By bringing my day-to-day pace down to an amble, and clearing all deadline-driven tasks off my calendar a day early, I find that it is very easy for me to ease my way into a new schedule after arriving half-way around the world!