I’m an avid traveler and by avid I don’t mean planning trips to a local beach every weekend. I travel constantly via airplane from coast to coast a few times a month. No matter where I go, my body is set on Eastern Standard Time, so traveling to the West Coast and back causes my entire body’s schedule to be thrown off course. However, even though waking up in the morning and going to sleep is extremely difficult when coming home after a trip, I found that there are ways to recover quickly from air travel.
1. Try to stay on local time. For example, if you live in New York and you’re flying to California for a few days, stay on New York time. Keep your watch on East Coast time and remember that California is three hours behind. If you normally go to sleep at 11pm EST, don’t go to sleep at 11pm when in California (your body will feel like it’s 2am). The same goes for waking up in the morning. If you normally wake up at 7am EST, make sure to set your alarm for 4am PST. That way, your body will feel like nothing ever happened.
2. Keep yourself hydrated while on the plane. Airplanes can be very dry and keeping your body hydrated will eliminate any risk of your body drying up. Remember to stock up on water bottles before boarding the plane and try to stay away from caffeine and alcohol.
3. Do exercises on the plane. If you have a six-hour flight, it is crucial that you get up and stretch your muscles periodically throughout the flight. Moving your body will keep your blood flowing, making a recovery easier for you when you return home.
4. Exercise the next day that you land. If you can exercise outdoors in the sunshine, do so. The sunlight and activity will help your body reset its internal clock naturally.
