I travel a lot. And one of the most common sets of issues I hear people discuss around travel is that ever-present jet-lag. In airports, on planes, and in homes everywhere, people seem to love talking about how much energy travel takes out of them and how they go about trying to recover.

I rarely get jet-lag, and when I do it is not very notable. But this was not always the case. Before I learned many of the strategies and tactics I am going to share with you, taking a trip would wipe me out for a full day or more. Over the years, I developed methods for eliminating (or at least reducing) the effects of travel, and it has certainly paid off over the years.

Let me begin by pointing out that jet-lag isn’t limited to travel by airplane… you can get it from just about any kind of travel. We just use different names for the same symptoms, which are: fatigue, headache, loss of sleep, soreness and stiffness, insomnia, constipation, and a few others. If you take a long trip by any means, you will likely show many of these symptoms, and for good reason: travel of many sorts shares a few common characteristics that lead to these symptoms in most people. And most of them are completely avoidable.

The most simple symptoms to avoid are those of stiffness, soreness, and constipation. All three of these are closely inter-related. They basically stem from lack of movement and dehydration, and are also affected by having cold air blown over you all day. To avoid these, you need plenty of water and juice (not sugar, caffeine, or alcohol), movement, and stretching breaks. Keep a light blanket or jacket over your torso while you are on the plane, too, to help your skin retain it’s warmth.

Fatigue and headache are also generally a function of dehydration, and also of lack of sleep and the additional stress caused by getting ready to travel. I don’t know of anyone who gets a full-night sleep the night before a trip unless they are not leaving until late in the day. The many tasks that must be completed before leaving the house, at the counter, at the security checkpoint, at the gate, and on the plane is a bit daunting to all but the experienced traveler. To avoid these, get as much rest as you can, and use exercise or meditation to help relax your mind throughout the travel day(s). Make a list in advance and check things off as you pack or complete them so that you always know what needs to be done and aren’t stressing about what may have been missed.

The hardest symptoms to handle are insomnia and loss of sleep. Between the often early or late hours that travel is scheduled and the change of time zones that usually accompanies it, your internal clock gets just plain messed up. To avoid this, try to get to bed early (even if this means packing an extra day in advance) and get a full night sleep. If your flight is outside of daytime hours, bring whatever you need to be able to nap on the plane. Then, when you get where you’re going, get some exercise, eat only lightly, and stay up until your normal bedtime in the new timezone. At that point, go to bed even if you don’t sleep. Set your alarm for daybreak and get out in the daylight as soon as possible. These steps will speed the process of acclimating to the new timezone… but if it’s more than about 3 hours expect it to take a couple days to really take hold.

Travel is fun if you let it be. Just make sure you stay hydrated, get plenty of movement and stretching in, and rest both before and after, and your trip should be pleasant and without after-effects.

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Quote for the week

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. - Lin Yutang

From the editor

I returned just a few hours ago from my week in the US… the wedding went off without, er, well, with a hitch (that’s the whole point, now, isn’t it); I was able to spend much quality time with many relatives; all in all, it was a great week.

It’s interesting to see just how much my perception of Korea has changed after being away for a week. I had was immediately reminded upon landing just how polluted the air is here, but at the same time I am much less stressed after being in a much more familiar environment for a while.

As always, let me know if there is something you’d like to read about in the near future…

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff