I enjoyed the article on avoiding jet lag, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal recently. If you missed it, it is attached for your reading pleasure. Much of what is said is true, but that isn’t how I do it. They do talk about a sleeping pill and coffee during the day, and those methods are acceptable to me.
The ultimate answer is whatever works for you, then absolutely do it. I tried melatonin a few times, but truthfully didn’t see a difference. If I am headed to Europe, I simply have my meal on the plane, a glass of wine or two, take a sleeping pill and wake up when I land. You traditionally land in the early morning and once I get to the hotel I take a shower to freshen up and head out and begin my day. About three in the afternoon I am usually dragging, but absolutely won’t go to sleep before 8:30 or 9:00 and I then take a pill and set the alarm. If it is a simple west coast trip from our Florida location, then once again a sleeping pill helps when you need it.
In the article it talked about bright light at certain times of the day. I never heard of that before, and it seems like too much trouble to me. But I guess if you had access to one of the LED lights that Bovie carries (MI500, MI1000 or System 2 LED) and by the way is included in this year’s Sleep Well You Bought a Bovie Promotion, then that might be an interesting approach to the problem.
I do have a few simple travel suggestions to help you when you return from the trip:
- Don’t check your luggage, carry it on. I understand that is easier for a guy, since we only need one or two pairs of shoes, but it saves so much time. It also means that the airline can’t lose your luggage.
- Never pack your car keys in your checked luggage. Your luggage may not be flying to the same airport you are going to.
- Always park on the same floor of the parking lot at the airport. I park on the 7th floor for short term and the 5th for long term. That way, even if you are a little confused about where you left it, you at least can walk around with your alarm button pushed on your keychain until it appears.
Enjoy the travel and Sleep Well,
President
Image courtesy of: Tim Beach/ Freedigitalphotos.net
