How To Recover From Jet Lag...

Obviously, I was a bit jet lagged from my whirlwind trip to New York City.  Actually, flying and traveling to other time zones tends to lend itself to jet lag so I thought I would share some of my remedies to help recover from it.


A good rule of thumb for recovering from jet lag is to count the number of time zones you have traveled through and that number is the number of days it will most likely take you to recover from jet lag.  Jet lag is basically that tired, worn out feeling one gets after flying; that feeling that you just want to lay down on the couch and not move.  Well, my first bit of advice to you would be just that....

1.  Don't plan on doing anything the day after you arrive home from your trip if at all possible.  Oh,
     I don't mean unpack your suitcase and wash clothes, but don't plan any appointments and actually
     do plan to take an extra day off from work to allow your body to rest.  I realize in this day and
     time, most people don't take the time to just "rest" but rest is restorative and we all need it.  If we
     do not stop to rest, our bodies we eventually demand it of us.

2.  Water.  Yes, water is very important when flying AND recovering from jet lag.  It is a good idea to
      drink plenty of water while you are flying since flying itself tends to dehydrate you.  But after
      landing and beginning to recover from jet lag, water is even more important.  If you usually drink
      60 oz. of water daily, increase that amount.  The more you drink, the better you will feel and the
      quicker you will recover from jet lag.  Do NOT drink soft drinks, tea or coffee (no alcohol,    
      which actually dehydrates) during the recovery period since those products do not cleanse and
      hydrate the body like water does.

3.  Stay away from sugar.  When your body is tired, the first thing many people want and tend to do is
      to reach for sweets and carbs.  Try to resist doing this since these types of foods only give you a
      "quick" lift and then comes the crash and that ends up making you feel even worse, thus taking
      longer for you to recover from that already tired feeling that comes from jet lag.  Instead, try to
      eat foods that are not processed, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.  I like to make a tomato
      based vegetable soup.  Not only is this a fresh, unprocessed choice, it is a warm sort of comfort
      food; most likely something you have not indulged in much while traveling.

4.  Get in a "little" exercise.  By "little", I mean something like a yoga class, which lends itself to
     stretching.  Stretching is good any day, not just on a jet lag day, so if you don't want to head out
     to a yoga class then just do some stretches yourself at home.  I would not recommend doing any
    sort of extreme cardio or weight lifting while your body is tired; this might cause some sort of
    unwanted injury.  Just give yourself a day or two and you will be ready to hit the gym full force
    again.

5.  Take a hot bath.  When I am jet lagged, I like to pour some restorative bath crystals in my water
     (ones that say they are good for sore muscles and have relaxation properties) and just soak there
     for a while.  You might not think there is much to this, but believe me...you will emerge feeling
     relaxed and rejuvenated.

6.  Rest.  As I said before, people do not think it is important to rest but I strongly disagree.  If you
     are tired, lay down; take a nap.  My son, who is a physician confirmed what I have always
     believed:  "Your body speaks to you...Listen to it."  It gives you signals that you need to rest and
     if you ignore those signals you might ends up much worse off.


I travel quite a bit and these few rules have helped me recover from jet lag over and over again.  I hope that they will also help you.  We only have one body...we should nurture and take care of it!