If a nap upon arrival was the only thought that got you through a long, grueling flight, well, we've got some news for you: That nap you planned to take is nothing but counterproductive to beating jet lag, no matter how much your body feels like it deserves the rest. If your flight lands in the daytime, forgoing a nap and seeking out natural light can give you a running start on adjusting to your new time zone. "Light is the biggest [factor in] our ability to get to sleep that night or to do any
of our daily functions," sleep expert Dr. Carmel Harrington tells Qantas. "The worst thing we can do when we get into a new time zone is not expose ourselves to bright light in the morning at say 7 o'clock in the morning."
You may be thinking, "What's the big deal about napping for a few hours? So I'll be out of it temporarily, but I should get back into the groove of things in a few days." As it turns out, jet lag can wreak havoc on more than just our travel itineraries. Plus, it can greatly affect travelers expected to be at their peak performance after a long flight across multiple time zones, such as business travelers who are expected to attend meetings or athletes slated to participate in an event. It's a slippery slope: Napping can veer your body clock off course, leaving you in the throes of jet lag much longer, which in turn can cause sluggishness, sickness, and a general feeling of malaise -- in short, all the things you don't want to experience when you're traveling.
Read more: How To Pack Just One Carry-On For A Week-Long Vacation
How To Distract Yourself From Taking A Nap After A Flight
Don't give in to that amazingly comfortable-looking hotel bed. Instead, use jet lag to your advantage by heading toward the light — no, we aren't talking about the afterlife kind, but the natural sunlight that holds the key to shaking your body clock awake from its jet-lagged stupor. If you land during the daytime, don't hide in your hotel room; instead, head outside with a mission to soak in as much sunshine as you can. As reported in the Scientific American, bright light is the best way to manipulate your body's circadian rhythm, which is crucial when battling jet lag. Rick Steves, no stranger to travel, agrees. "Jet lag hates fresh air, daylight, and exercise. Your body may beg for sleep, but stand firm: Refuse," he writes in a blog post.
Meanwhile, proactively trying to cajole your circadian rhythm ahead of your trip could help you hit the ground running once you've landed. The trick, it seems, is to shift your sleep schedule in small but significant increments of time beforehand to match the time zone of your destination. Australian physiologist David Stevens told NPR that it's best to move your bedtime an hour later each night if you are westward-bound. Yet traveling from west to east is a different story, because going to bed when you aren't sleepy isn't as easy as it sounds. The way around this is to embrace the early bird in you: Wake up earlier than usual to profit from as much daylight as possible. Finding yourself in a walkable city that's easy to explore and packed with iconic sights can certainly help distract you from a nap while you absorb some much-needed vitamin D. And if all else fails, try a flight attendant's best tips for avoiding jet lag.
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Read the original article on Islands.
