How to Cope With Jet Lag – Tips From Catherine Sergautis

Jet lag is the bane of frequent travelers like Catherine Sergautis. If you are traveling across time zones, you are bound to have some degree of inappropriate sleepiness or wakefulness. Catherine Sergautis shares her tips for combating jet lag and getting the most out of your travel.

The most important thing you can do, Catherine Sergautis says, is to start your trip well rested. If you can take a flight that runs overnight and wake up in the morning at your destination, this can be a great strategy. If that isn’t possible, get several good nights of rest in the days subsequent to your trip. Travel will tire you out and you need all of the energy you can get.

Carry a gentle sleep aid like melatonin with you on your trip. If you can take this kind of supplement on your first few nights in a new destination, Catherine Sergautis explains, it will help your body fall asleep at the appropriate times and be awake during the day.

Another option is to start adjusting your body to the time zone change before you even leave. Catherine Sergautis explains that it is possible to adjust your internal clock by a time zone or two by waking either earlier or later for a few days depending on the direction you will be traveling in.

Catherine Sergautis also recommends that you try to exercise upon your arrival at a new location. Being outside in the sun helps to reset your internal clock, and the exercise helps to set a new schedule of activity for your body.

One other trick that Catherine Sergautis recommends is changing your watch before you arrive in your destination. Change it as soon as you get on the plane to correspond with your final location. This creates a mental adjustment and you will experience less time dislocation if you mentally spend your travel time in the new time zone.