Dizzy jet lag can happen to everyone. Diving in cool places involves traveling, which of course is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, there are also some disadvantages when you travel between time zones. One of these discomforts is jet lag.
It certainly happened to you that after a long trip you needed a few days to recover. This is natural and related to the change of time zone, which badly affects our internal biological clock. But what to do with it when you have a dive planned? Today I’ll talk about how to deal with dizzy Jet Lag
Fast Take Aways on dizzy jet lag
1. don’t force yourself as soon as you arrive at your destination
2. adjust your biological clock to the new time zone
3. drink water and avoid alcohol
Table of Contents
What is jet lag?
Jet lag accompanies all travelers who move between multiple time zones. Everyone experiences jet lag in an individual way and with varying intensity. However, the common denominator is extreme fatigue and crashing.
During our diving expeditions, we were repeatedly accompanied by the sudden time zone change syndrome. How to deal with this dizzy jet lag? Is it safe to dive directly after a trip? You will find the answers to these questions in the rest of the article, so get to it!
Long-distance travel is always associated with the occurrence of jet lag. This is due to the fact that our body and diurnal clock is out of sync with the time of day we are in after traveling to a different time zone. We are usually accompanied by fatigue, drowsiness in the middle of the day, problems falling asleep, a sense of arousal and hunger at bedtime, fractiousness, nervousness.
Dizzy Jet Lag how to help overcome it?
Unfortunately, it is the case that the more time zones one crosses, the greater the severity of the above symptoms, and it takes longer to get rid of jet lag and return to normal functioning. On various discussion forums, travel groups, in guidebooks you can find some main ideas that should help us avoid jet lag.
Adjust to the new day
Once you arrive at your destination, it’s a good idea to jump into a new schedule. What I mean by this is to function normally at your destination. For example, if you arrive at your destination at 12 noon, live and function as if you were in your original time zone. Be active during the day, and go to bed at your normal time in the evening.
I know it’s quite difficult to do, especially when you’re after a 12-hour flight, but trust me! Switching to a new time is the best option in my opinion. Then jet lag is not so much of a problem. Yes you will feel its presence, but this way your body will quickly get used to the new conditions.
To make adaptation to the new daily cycle a little easier, you can also do morning gymnastics, go out in the sun, go for a walk. All this to give ourselves as much positive energy as possible and to re-program our biological clock.
Sleep while traveling
Personally, I think sleeping while traveling is the best option you can choose. And it doesn’t matter whether you travel by boat, car, train or fly by plane. First of all, when you sleep time flies faster, and secondly, you partially regenerate your strength. Remember that lack of sleep or too little sleep is bad for our health and well-being.
Take a eye patch with you to simulate the night. A comfortable pillow under your head will also be very helpful. If you have shallow sleep and can be awakened by even a soft gasp, you should also consider taking earplugs. Know this: insomnia greatly intensifies the effect of jet lag. Besides, there’s nothing worse than being sleep-deprived. Well, maybe it’s just as bad to be hungry 🙂
Prepare in advance
Of course, under normal circumstances when everyone has to work before the desired vacation, it’s hard to implement such a strategy. How does it work in reality? That’s what I don’t know. Perhaps it is effective, however, in my opinion, there is too much trouble with it. I much prefer to reset my biological clock on the spot, right after arrival.
Some also practice gradually shifting sleep hours a few days before the trip. What does this look like in practice? When we fly west, we try to go to bed later, and preferably sleep longer. On the other hand, when we fly east, we go to bed an hour earlier each day. We do this for each time zone we intend to cross.
Drink a lot
No, not beer or local liquor, but water. Good hydration is very important in quick adaptation and full recovery. A long seated flight, unhealthy food on the plane or quick snacks at the airport all cause dehydration. And when our body has to deal with the big shock of the time change, you add alcohol to the mix. Does this sound like a good plan in your opinion?
Diving with jet lag
Personally, I do not dive upon arrival. Regardless of whether we go diving nearby or to the “other side of the world”. First, one is tired after traveling, after all, we have to add two airport check-ins and getting to/from the airport to a flight of several hours.
Secondly, fatigue and jet lag, can significantly affect safety in diving. What would normally be easy and straightforward for us, after a tiring trip can cause us problems.
Dizzy Jet Lag – let’s recap
Traveling is great, and on that we must agree. And it can be even better when we plan to immerse ourselves in these new places. Unfortunately, we have to deal with the discomfort caused by jet lag, and for this there is no magic method or pill. Or at least not yet.
When planning a diving trip, or any other, take into account that you will not be 100% fit from the first day of departure. So don’t plan any heavy challenges at the very beginning and give yourself a moment to overcome the dizzy jet lag
