The jet lag struggle is real. And it is worse for some people than others. Luckily, I am pretty good at surviving on little sleep. Blake is another story. It is literally as if he has narcolepsy when we travel. If he stops moving for a second, he will be asleep. I have to drag him from activity to activity to keep him awake. But, if I can keep him awake the first day, he is good to go by day two! I put together some tips that have helped us adjust whenever we travel. I intentionally did not include “sleep on the plane” in this list. For those of you who are like me and cannot sleep while you are flying, I feel your pain. BUT, hope is not lost for coping with jet lag. You can overcome it too.

1

Start to adjust before you leave

If you are traveling east, start to go to bed a little earlier every night. If you are traveling west, start to go to bed a little later every night. Even adjusting by 2 hours before you leave, helps substantially. Before we left for Paris, we both made an effort to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. We are 11-7 sleepers, but by the time we left, we had adjusted to 9-5. That little bit helped so much!

2

Hydrate

Dehydration makes jet lag SO much worse. Start to over hydrate the week before you leave. It’s hard to remember to drink water throughout the day, so get a large water bottle and set a goal for how many times you want to fill it up during the day. We both use our large Swell bottle. Don’t forget to continue to hydrate when you board your plane. Flying really dries you out.

3

Avoid alcohol

Sorry to crash the party, but alcohol on the plane is not a good idea. It will only dehydrate you. That first glass of amazing European wine will be worth the wait!

4

Relax on the plane

Even if you cannot sleep on the plane, do not make the mistake of staying stimulated the entire flight. Watching movies and even reading is not the same as closing your eyes and resting. Even though I cannot sleep, I make it a point to unplug for a couple hours. I recline my seat, put my ear plugs in, my eye mask on, and try to relax. I did this for 4 hours on our flight over and felt rested when I sat back up.

5

Switch to local time

When you get to your destination, you are on that time. Do not think about the time you would be sleeping back home or eating back home. Meal times and sleep times must be switched ASAP.

6

DO NOT NAP

I know you want to, but you cannot nap. Power through and stay awake. Blake failed miserably at this. He fell asleep twice during our first day. When we got to Paris, my adrenaline was going and I powered through the entire first day, no naps.

7

Don’t stop moving

When you stop moving, that’s when jet lag hits you. Plan an entire days worth of activity for your first day.

8

Fuel up

Coffee and food are necessities. Being hangry and jetlagged is not a pretty picture. So on our first day, I always plan out “safe” meals that I know will not disappoint. In Paris, both lunch and dinner on our first day were places I had been to before and knew would be great.

9

Bed time is local time

Your bedtime should be adjusted to local time. If you would typically go to bed at 10pm at home, stay up until 10pm. If you cannot make it to 10, maybe give yourself an extra hour. But fight the temptation to go to bed at 7pm.

10

Set an alarm

The first morning will be the hardest to wake up. Set your alarm and drag your tired bum out of bed. Tip, pre-order coffee or room service to your hotel room for whatever time you want to wake up. Then you are forced to get up and answer the door. The smell of coffee will instantly perk you up.

The first 24 hours are the hardest. If you can make it through, you will be good to go after that!