Jet lag

As a frequent traveller, I have learned to embrace jet lag as opposed to curse it every time I take a long-haul flight. Experiencing jet lag can be overwhelming and daunting to some, but there are several ways to conquer it, and they don't take an entire month.

• Jet lag is worse when you travel east. When we were kids, my sister and I knew that by 1.30am, on every night of our first week back in Hong Kong from our summer vacation in Belgium, we would both be wide awake and unable to go back to sleep, no matter how hard we tried. However, we never experienced this while we were in Belgium, and slept like babies throughout each entire night over there, even if we had just touched down from a 14-hour journey from Hong Kong. I admit that I fail to give you a solid, scientifically-backed explanation as to why this is, but please take my childhood memories' word for it.
• Adjust to your destination's time zone a few days before you travel. This may seem a little strange, but the facts that all my essay deadlines are usually crammed into the last week of term and that I work best between the hours of 10pm and 4am (ergo, I take 4 to 5-hour naps in the afternoon) combine to minimise jet lag when I arrive back home in Hong Kong for the holidays. If you don't write essays and need another excuse to change your sleep pattern just for a night or two, try reading a book, learning a new recipe, clubbing all night... The possibilities are endless. If you can, try doing this gradually over the course of 3-4 days so that your body isn't completely shocked into sleeping and being awake at strange times.
• Before your flight, adjust your watch to your destination's time zone. This will give you an idea of the times during which you should catch some sleep during your flight, and whether you'd be better off sleeping the whole way through or taking several short "naps".
• During the flight, avoid eating or drinking things that affect sleep. Alcohol and caffeine are definite no-noes. Not to mention that alcohol decreases your level of alertness, which may cause problems should you need to be 100% attentive in case of an emergency (just sayin'. But touch wood all the same).
• When you arrive, use logic to assess whether you want to nap or not. The same rules apply as in the time zone you're used to: if you take a long nap, you'll find it harder to sleep at night or will wake up in the middle of the night. If you stay up for as long as you can, you'll be more likely to find a normal sleeping pattern sooner. When I arrive in Hong Kong (landing at around 4pm), I usually stay awake until 1am, when I finally succumb to the desire to just pass out on my bed (which also happens to be the most comfortable bed in the world). Result: uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep (at least). When I get back to the UK (I land in the morning), I take a short 1.5-hour nap right after lunch, and I don't feel tired until 10 or 11pm again. From then on, uninterrupted sleep for 7 to 8 hours ensues.
• If you find yourself awake at an awkward time, tire your eyes out. Read, stare at a computer screen, play a board game/Solitaire (I always played Monopoly with my sister, which always ended with her owing me money and being a sore loser).