To resest your biological clock, there are two key factors that should be taken into consideration: sun and food. It is indeed as simple as that: you just need some sun (at the right time!) and some food (also at the right time!). Get these two right, and the rest becomes a peace of cake for your body to sort out and give you back your happiness and wellbeing.
Note that although in what follows I am mainly talking about overcoming jetlag due to time-zone changes, most of the rules apply when you want to get back into a normal rhythm after a few late nights.
If you are going to fly long hall, there are a few things that you must observe to avoid severe jetlag:
- Adjust your clock to the time zone you are going into as soon you board the plane. Don’t play mind games trying to constantly calculate the time difference between the place you flew from and the place you are supposed to land at. Forget the old time zone and work only with the new one while you are on the plane.
- There is some benefit to fasting for 10-16 hours starting a couple of hours before you board the plane. If you can’t do that, at least eat your meals according to your new time zone.
- Do not drink any alcohol on the plane. Drink coffee ONLY if it is early morning in the new time zone.
When you arrive at your new destination:
- Get up at dawn and go out in the sun for 30 minutes with no sun glasses on.
- Get natural light exposure as much as you can during the whole day
- Have coffee ONLY in the morning. Absolutely no caffeine after midday.
- Stay hydrated.
- Stay away from all electronic devices as much as you can, but especially after 7pm (no TV too)
- Sleep in total black out. Even if you can’t sleep at night, rest in the dark, do not turn on the lights, and especially do not turn on your computer, your phone or the TV if you can’t sleep.