Jet lag, it’s a Twilight Zone place of mental and bodily confusion and no one can seem to give you an adequate jet lag cure.
You’re waking when you should be sleeping and nodding off mid-conversation to your boss at work. And this is 6 days after you touched down.
You constantly feel wired and on edge, your words get confused and you cannot see, let alone think through the fog.
Where’s a jet lag cure that works!
I witnessed the effects of jet lag the other night.
My mother has just returned from a 3 week trip to Europe. She was gallivanting around while Dad was keeping the house spotlessly clean and working out how to turn on the oven. He did well.
Mum didn’t sleep much on the plane and was dazed and confused when we popped by the day after her arrival for dinner and holiday talk.
We supplied a baked chook (chicken in Oz speak) for Mum and Dad, Craig had a fish burger and I was only able to eat hot chips (I was on a restricted diet due to the curing of allergies. Long story, check out Mojito Mother for more).
Fries are not the best choice I know, but I was not allowed to eat iron so it ruled out a lot of things.
Mum placed a plate of chicken in front of me.
“What are you doing Mum?”
“Giving you some chicken.”
“But, I can only eat fries remember.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.”
“And Mum. I’m vegetarian.” (Have been for 6 years)
“Oh.” She chuckled while I joked about amnesia.
She busied herself and walked over and put an extra large serving of chicken in front of Craig.
“There you go love.”
“Mum. What are you doing? We’re vegetarian.”
“Oh. My goodness. I have no idea why I just did that. I’m losing my mind.”
No you’re just suffering from jet lag.
A week later she’s still laughing at how she tried to give us both chicken.
What is jet lag and how do you get it?
Just a quick refresh for those who may be first-time travelers and not understand what jet lag is.
Jet lag is extreme tiredness and presents other physical effects, like memory lapses. Jet lag is felt by a person after a long flight across several time zones, which disrupts the body’s 24 hour rhythm. Learn more about circadian rhythm here.
It can take a few days to a few weeks for your body to adjust to a new time zone when flying. This can make things difficult if you are bouncing from time zone to time zone in a short period of time.
If you are flying long distances, and multiple flights over a short period of time, jet lag can destroy you and you’ll need a jet lag cure that works!
When is jet lag worse?
I find the jet lag hits me worse traveling East. I always get slammed flying from Australia to America and from the UK home to Oz.
I just researched this to discover it is actually fact because traveling eastward runs in the opposite direction to the body clock.
My secret jet lag cure
Okay, to be honest, I really haven’t tried this strategy yet, because I’ve only just learned it and have not traveled overseas.
BUT, I fully believe due to similar things I am doing with it. There are also case studies to back it up.
This strategy is FREE, in huge abundance, and so simple it will BLOW your mind.
Are you ready?(Update: I have tried this secret jet lag cure and it works well!!)
(Update: I have tried this secret jet lag cure and it works well!!)
Earth Yourself
Yep. As simple as that. As soon as you can after your flight arrival, kick off your shoes and put your bare feet on the ground (grass, dirt or sand) for at least 30 minutes.
No I am not crazy. Why would I be?
The earth provides everything with life and works perfectly, why would it not help to cure our imbalances, especially jet lag?
How does earthing work?
You can read about earthing here where I am sharing my earthing project. I am earthing every day: simply connecting my bare skin to the bare earth. It’s fabulous and my health is dramatically improving.
As travelers, I am sure you are well aware of how great it feels when you connect to the earth. I know as a traveler I spend days if not weeks in constant earthly contact.
Remember when we were kids how barefoot was the norm? And think of the indigenous culture – no shoes there. They always relied on the earth to heal them.
A very simple explanation of how earthing works
The earth holds tons of negative electrons and when we connect with our bare skin (most notably the feet) they buzz on up inside of us and overpower all the positive electrons (the bad stuff) that is wreaking havoc on our body causing inflammation, imbalance and general all round wackiness.
And jet lag is an all round wackiness.
Think of the Earth as the world’s biggest anti-inflammatory. And inflammation is responsible for a vast majority of the world’s illnesses.
As a flier, you spend a lot of time off the ground and in the further reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere. You don’t get the benefits of the healing negative electrons and as you move through the atmosphere you lose connection with the Earth’s frequency.
An experiment by the California Institute of Human Sciences demonstrated that the human body checks for its reference to the Earth every ninety seconds so you can see how confused your body gets on a long haul flight.
All ya gotta do is step outside and touch the earth. You’ll feel the jet lag melt away while you effortlessly settle into your new time zone without giving any long-term vegetarians chicken.
According to the book Earthing,
“This phenomenon is best explained by the body sensing different frequencies from the electrons of the Earth and receiving “Local cues” from these vibrating electrons as the the time of day. Further research is needed to prove this effect, but anecdotal evidences accumulated over the years are strong enough for this effect to receive a mention”
It doesn’t hurt to try this secret jet lag cure right? Whaddaya got to lose?
If you want more help, just in case, then follow our tips for overcoming jet lag below.
9 Helpful Tips for Getting Over Jet Lag
1. Have enough sleep before you leave for your flight
Sleep deficit will make jet lag worse.
2. Drink warm water
The lovely JJ from 84th and 3rd shared this with me recently. Drink warm water for the duration of the flight. It is an Ayurvedic technique. You know that ancient Indian philosophy that created meditation and yoga. I feel as if they know their shit (They also did the whole bare foot thing).
3. Nap during the flight
Take short little naps on the flight when you feel sleepy. It will help build those reserves. If you can sleep for longer make it so that you sleep during the sleep time of your arrival time zone.
For early morning arrivals, ensure you get some sleep on the plane to help you to stay awake until night time. If you are arriving at night, avoid sleeping much during the flight.
4. Eat small meals frequently
Make sure you are filling your body with lots of healthy food: fruit and vegetables. Avoid sugar as much as you can.
5. Get up and walk
Walking and stretching will get your blood flowing. It’s great for so many reasons.
6. Avoid alcohol and caffeine
It’s not the sleep imbibing drug we all think it is. Alcohol will keep you awake and when you combine it with the jet lag haze it can get nasty. Caffeine just messes with your internal clock on a normal day. Avoid alcohol and caffeine the day of your arrival too.
[Note to all women wishing to have children one day: The first 12 weeks of pregnancy feels like you are hungover and suffering from jet lag at the same time. #BestWayToDescribeIt #JustSayin #Hideous]
7. Expose yourself to daylight
When you arrive at your destination get out in the sun (may struggle if in England). The sunlight will wake you up into the new time zone.
8. Do not sleep at the wrong time
No matter how tired you are when you arrive in your new time zone, you gotta put those match sticks in and stay awake. Wait until it is bed time. It’s okay to hit the hay as soon as the sun goes down, but it is best you wait till then. Help your body get used to the new time zone ASAP.
9. Travel in a westerly route
We learned above why this can help you. If you are flying westward, try to go to sleep as late as possible for two to three days before you leave.
And earth as much as you can. The simplest jet lag cure there is!
[Update adding in one more tip]
10 Fly business class
I’m adding this tip in long after this post was written as I’ve finally had the experience of flying business class. On my visit to Downtown LA for the BlogHer conference, I flew business class. Jet lag was practically not an issue for me at all and usually flying to LA, it’s awful. I didn’t even sleep on the plane, but just having the space to stretch out, lie down and rest made a massive difference in my recovery. What a great jet lag cure! If only we could afford business class all the time.
More flying tips
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Do you have a secret jet lag cure? What is your best tip for getting over jet lag?
