Summer travel is a wonderful way to make memories with your family, whether you’re heading overseas or just flying coast to coast. But crossing multiple time zones can lead to an unwelcome travel companion: jet lag. This common condition can cause sleep disturbances, digestive upsets, and general discomfort as your body struggles to adjust to a new light-dark cycle. Think of it as a temporary case of “growing pains” while your internal clock catches up to your new surroundings.
While jet lag tends to hit adults harder, kids can feel it too. The good news? With a few simple strategies, you can help your whole family adjust more smoothly and ease the symptoms of jet lag.
Relief of jet lag symptoms can start before your trip. It can be helpful to adjust the family to your destination’s daylight schedule a few days before your journey. By changing your family’s sleep schedule by one hour each night in the days leading up to your vacation it will make it easier for you to acclimate once you land.
While in transit, try to align your family’s sleep with the time zone of your destination. If it’s nighttime at your destination while you’re flying, encourage everyone to sleep on the plane. If you arrive during daylight hours, do your best to stay awake. And if a nap is absolutely necessary, keep it short — 20 to 30 minutes — and make sure it’s at least six hours before bedtime.
It may be a good idea to plan an activity for when you arrive. It will help to keep little ones from napping and provides what some call “light therapy”. Being exposed to sunlight helps to reset your internal clock. Morning light exposure usually helps one to adjust to an earlier time zone after traveling east. Evening light helps one to adapt to a later time zone after traveling west. If you’re indoors and sunlight isn’t available, spending time in well-lit areas can offer a similar benefit.
In the first few days of your trip, it’s wise to hold off on adventurous eating. Stick with familiar foods that your body is already used to digesting to help minimize the digestive discomfort often associated with jet lag. Once your body adjusts, you’ll be free to explore new flavors without added stress on your system.
If routine adjustments aren’t enough to ease your jet lag symptoms, Boiron offers homeopathic options that can help. The Jet Lag Relief Kit features three targeted medicines: Arnica montana to relieve muscle pain and stiffness* from long periods of sitting, Cocculus indicus for nausea linked to jet lag*, and Nux vomica to address drowsiness and digestive issues.* For sleep disruptions, try SleepCalm On the Go or SleepCalm Kids Pellets. These non-habit-forming sleep aids help with occasional sleeplessness, restless sleep, and intermittent waking.*
Summer vacations should be filled with fun — not fatigue. Visit the BoironUSA blog to discover more smart travel tips and homeopathic options to help ease symptoms and keep your trip on track.
*Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated.
