This four-day diet plan will help you adapt quickly to your new time zone and enjoy every single moment of your trip!
To travel lovers, jet lag might feel like an uninvited guest that comes when the fun is just about to start.
The good news is that jet lag is controllable and preventable. On your next travel trip, try the following tips and have jet lag under control! 😎💪
But first, what exactly is "Jet Lag"?
According to MedicalNewsToday, jet lag is a sleep disorder that can occur when sleep-wake patterns are disturbed. "A person may feel drowsy, tired, irritable, lethargic, and slightly disoriented." It can be caused by traveling across different time zones in a short period of time, which disturbs the body's internal clock.
How to prevent it?
Try the Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag-Diet. It was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, and it has been used to "speed the adjustment of shift workers, such as power plant operators, to periodically rotating work hours." This diet plan starts four days before your day of travel.
Here's how to implement it:
1. Find out the breakfast time of your travel destination on the day of your arrival.
2. FEAST: Start 4 days before that breakfast time, in other words, three days till your travel day. Have high-protein foods, such as beef, eggs, and green beans. This is to help stimulate the body's active cycle. Make sure you cut caffeine consumption except between 3-5 PM.
3. FAST: When it is two days till your travel day, fast. Have light meals, such as light soups, veggies, fruits, etc. This is to help "deplete the liver's store of carbohydrates and prepare the body's clock for resetting."
4. FEAST: When it is one day till your travel day, have high-carb meals, such as pasta (no meatballs), starchy vegetables, etc. This time, feasting will help stimulate sleep. Don't forget to cut your caffeine consumption.
5. FAST: on your travel day, fast again. If you need to consume some caffeine, limit it to the morning when traveling west, or between 6 and 11 PM when traveling east. Avoid alcohol and make sure you are staying hydrated.
Now that you have arrived at your destination, sleep until it is time for breakfast. Then, wake up and have a rich breakfast meal with a good amount of protein and try to stay active during the day.
This four-day diet plan should help you set your inner clock in advance and limit headaches, sleep disturbances, insomnia, lethargy, and fatigue. Now, you can say goodbye to jet lag and start enjoying your travel trips to the fullest! 👏