Coping with jet lag after a long haul flight is something that most people aren’t very good at.
It can be difficult to get your body clock in sync with the times at your new destination when you have traveled across many time zones, however there are ways to make the most of the situation and ensure that you don’t waste too much time sleeping when you get to where you are going and miss out on part of the holiday.
By remaining well hydrated during your flight you will have a lot more energy when you arrive at your destination. The more alcohol you drink during your flight the more dehydrated you will become so you will need to counter than with additional water.
Use the boredom of flying as a good time to get extra sleep so you have more energy when you get to your holiday spot.
When you get to where you are going the first thing that you should do is adjust your watch to the same time as the locals. This will immediately start getting you accustomed to their time zone.
Rather than going to your hotel room and having a long sleep you should try to emulate what other people are doing at that time of the day or night.
If it is lunchtime when you arrive you should have lunch too and if you aren’t all that hungry just have a snack to get into the rhythm of the region.
While many people will go to sleep for hours to recover, one trick that seems to work really well is to have short cat naps of approximately half an hour. This will do wonders to rejuvenate you and it will also allow you to sleep a reasonable amount of time the first night without getting too stimulated or over-tired.
Set your alarm to help you arise at a reasonable time and get out of bed and showered to help you wake up, then have breakfast at the same time as the locals.
If you are still feeling tired that day you can have another cat nap or two throughout the day when you feel like relaxing and you will probably find that you have done enough to overcome your jet lag without missing any of your precious holiday time.