Fail! I slept through the entire Monday Night Football game, again. No, I am not fatigued. What I am struggling with is jet lag after being in Europe for three weeks.
Maybe I should take my own advice because I know from experience that these four jet lag tips work if you can just stay away long enough to stick to them.
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1. Stay Awake
The number one thing you can do to beat jet lag is to stay awake until it’s actually time to go to sleep in your current location. No matter what time of day you arrive, DO NOT take a nap. Resist all temptation to fall asleep on the couch (oops). If you can stay awake until a decent bedtime, you have a great chance of sleeping through the night and being rid of jet lag before it has a chance to take hold of you.
2. Use Melatonin
If your body does not understand when it’s time to go to sleep, take 3-6 grams of Melatonin. What’s great about Melatonin is that it’s a natural sleep hormone. In other words, it will tell your body to be sleepy.
It shouldn’t leave you groggy, and you can get it at any health food store or even on Amazon. You may prefer a different sleep aid, just make sure it’s okay to mix with alcohol if you’re going to be drinking.
Related: 3 Things to Help You Sleep on the Road
3. Retrain your Bladder
This part of jet lag is often overlooked. But think about it, do you normally get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? My guess is most of you don’t, and your bladders are used to that. However, with jet lag, you will find yourself waking up in the night needing to use the loo, because your bladder may still think it’s daytime.
This one is tricky to fix but oh so important to stay asleep during the night. My advice: drink plenty of liquids throughout the first half of the day to make yourself go to the bathroom regularly during the daytime. As nighttime approaches, don’t drink too much and go to the bathroom twice before you go to bed.
4. Count Sheep
If you are struggling to stay asleep in the middle of the night, resist the temptation to get up. Even if you can’t fall back asleep, you owe it to your body to rest as much as possible. Try counting sheep! Seriously, it works…
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