For anyone who's never experienced jet lag, it's by far the least enjoyable thing about air travel. Our first time experiencing the dreaded jet lag was on our trip to Iceland and sadly there's no good way of dealing with it.Coming from Texas, we connected at JFK and then made our over night flight to Iceland. When we landed, it was 3am Austin time but in Iceland it was 8am. We were driven into Reykjavik, dropped at our hotel to check in and then we grabbed what we needed and drove the 45 minutes to the Blue Lagoon. There was no down time, barely any time to eat breakfast and certainly no time to nap or catch up on sleep. By the time we made it to bed that night, we had been up for about 36 hours straight. The entire week in Iceland was like this. With the hunt for the Northern Lights, we stayed up late many nights looking at the websites to see if there was a chance to catch a glimpse. Then every morning, we woke up to head from one place to the next. Catching up on sleep isn't really on the schedule when you're in another country and want to see as much as possible. But skipping out on sleep and feeling exhausted doesn't create a fun environment either. So how do you survive jet lag? We don't know! But we have some tips that we tried to recover as quickly as we could. 1. Adjusting Your Sleep Many websites and blogs will recommend regulating your sleep schedule to the time of your destination city. Honestly, this would probably help a lot but it's just not feasible for everyone. Work schedules can be too complicated, other people have kids and family to tend to. If that doesn't work for you, many travelers try to sleep on the plane. Some try sleeping pills and are recommended for flights longer than 8 hours. BUT the one thing I've found helpful, is wine! This is very opposite of what most people would tell you but think about it... we can all relate to having a glass (or two) of wine and feeling sleepy. That happens just the same on a plane. It might not be as comfortable as a bed but a cozy sweater and something pillow-like against the window can definitely be a combination for some z's. Just remember that air travel dehydrates you so make sure and drink lots of water along with your glass of wine! 2. Sleep During the Natural Night Some cities are all about partying and dancing the night away but if you're feeling some jet lag, try to get a few hours of sleep during the normal night hours... At least for the first couple of nights. That way when you wake up, you'll feel more rested and willing to spend a few nights out on the town towards the end of the trip. When we were in Iceland, each night's sleep got shorter and shorter as the week progressed so getting some sleep earlier in the week will help keep your energy up. 3. Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Did I say it enough? Sometimes, a vacation schedule is so crammed with activity, it's impossible to get those 6-8 hours of sleep. So if all else fails, drink some caffeine! Pick your poison: soda, energy drinks, tea, coffee... Some caffeine will certainly keep you going for a bit and get you through a few activities, at the least. Remember to drink water too because caffeine, like wine, will dehydrate you and might have reverse effects. 4. Lastly, Deal With It
Sometimes, easier said than done. Our dear friend, Cynthia came from SF for the Iceland trip and her sleep pattern was so off that she got sick and had to skip the Blue Ice Hike to catch up on sleep. Sickness from Jet Lag is on another level that we have yet to experience. And luckily for us, we never felt sick but instead just exhausted. I'm pretty sure every morning we woke up smacking the crap out of the alarm clock but we knew we only have this one week to explore Iceland. We almost always have the mindset that we can sleep when we die. If we aren't feeling sick or nauseous, we are going to go hard and see everything we can. Maybe that's crazy, maybe. But for us, we don't want to leave a city and feel like we missed out on something. Our love for travel will always be alive and well but who knows for how long we will be. While we're able bodied, we want to take in everything we can. With jet lag, sleepy eyes, and all! At the end of the day (or more likely the beginning) you just have to decide to deal with it and drag your butt out of your hotel bed! If you have some affective ways to conquer jet lag, comment below! Until Next Time, C + D
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