Are you packed and ready for your upcoming flight? Whether it’s for business or pleasure, your top priorities are making sure you’ve checked in within 24 hours of departure, all travel essentials have been packed, and double-checking you have your passport handy. However, with the excitement for your trip and checking off your to-do list, jet lag may be the last thing on your mind. What can really throw a wrench in your travel plans is having an irregular sleep cycle, therefore, our aircraft dispatcher team at Sheffield talks about how to beat jet lag.
Melatonin Is Your Friend
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain to facilitate our daily sleep cycle and our body’s internal clock (or circadian rhythm) dictates how much melatonin to produce. [1] A great hack to help you beat jet lag is to up your melatonin by taking 3 to 10 milligrams 30 minutes before you go to sleep to help with your circadian rhythm. If you’re traveling east, take melatonin in the evening and welcome the bright light in the morning to fast-forward your internal clock. If you’re traveling west, take melatonin in the morning but stay around bright lights in the evenings in order to rewind your internal clock.
Nevertheless, for the melatonin to be effective, you must reduce the amount of bright light exposure. Looking at glaring screens from mobile devices and laptops before bedtime can contribute to jet lag insomnia, which no one wants.
Cut Down on Blue Light Exposure
Speaking of glaring screens before bedtime, our aircraft team recommends cutting down on the use of mobile devices and laptops with “blue” light before going to sleep. In today’s world, our eyes are always glued to the screen of our mobile devices and laptops that emit an artificial “blue” light. It inhibits our circadian rhythm. This kind of light confuses our brains into thinking it’s still daylight, which lessens the amount of melatonin created in the pineal gland when it’s time for bed.
If you have no choice but to use your laptop, mobile tablet, or smartphone for work before going to sleep, purchase computer glasses from sites like Amazon. The lenses on computer glasses are usually made with a yellow tint to soften the effect of the blue light on the eyes, making it easier to go to sleep afterward.
With these useful hacks, it’ll be much easier getting some shut-eye when you touch ground. If you’d like to learn more about how to beat jet lag or how air traffic control systems work, feel free to reach out to a member of our aircraft team at our aviation school. Safe travels!
Source:
[1] Sleep.org – What Is Melatonin?
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How to Beat Jet Lag
Are you packed and ready for your upcoming flight? Whether it’s for business or pleasure, your top priorities are making sure you’ve checked in within 24 hours of departure, all travel essentials have been packed, and double-checking you have your passport handy. However, with the excitement for your trip and checking off your to-do list, jet lag may be the last thing on your mind. What can really throw a wrench in your travel plans is having an irregular sleep cycle, therefore, our aircraft dispatcher team at Sheffield talks about how to beat jet lag.
Melatonin Is Your Friend
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain to facilitate our daily sleep cycle and our body’s internal clock (or circadian rhythm) dictates how much melatonin to produce. [1] A great hack to help you beat jet lag is to up your melatonin by taking 3 to 10 milligrams 30 minutes before you go to sleep to help with your circadian rhythm. If you’re traveling east, take melatonin in the evening and welcome the bright light in the morning to fast-forward your internal clock. If you’re traveling west, take melatonin in the morning but stay around bright lights in the evenings in order to rewind your internal clock.
Nevertheless, for the melatonin to be effective, you must reduce the amount of bright light exposure. Looking at glaring screens from mobile devices and laptops before bedtime can contribute to jet lag insomnia, which no one wants.
Cut Down on Blue Light Exposure
Speaking of glaring screens before bedtime, our aircraft team recommends cutting down on the use of mobile devices and laptops with “blue” light before going to sleep. In today’s world, our eyes are always glued to the screen of our mobile devices and laptops that emit an artificial “blue” light. It inhibits our circadian rhythm. This kind of light confuses our brains into thinking it’s still daylight, which lessens the amount of melatonin created in the pineal gland when it’s time for bed.
If you have no choice but to use your laptop, mobile tablet, or smartphone for work before going to sleep, purchase computer glasses from sites like Amazon. The lenses on computer glasses are usually made with a yellow tint to soften the effect of the blue light on the eyes, making it easier to go to sleep afterward.
With these useful hacks, it’ll be much easier getting some shut-eye when you touch ground. If you’d like to learn more about how to beat jet lag or how air traffic control systems work, feel free to reach out to a member of our aircraft team at our aviation school. Safe travels!
Source:
[1] Sleep.org – What Is Melatonin?