Company Travel: Dealing With Jet Lag

People who travel often for business will experience jet lag sooner or later. In fact, business travelers often blame their bad days and poor performance on jet lag. Jet lag not only affects the body physically but mentally and emotionally too.

What is jet lag?

The term jet lag refers to a condition of disorientation experienced by the body as a result of crossing time zones. Crossing time zones affects the internal clock of a person and causes various symptoms such as insomnia, tiredness, headaches, inability to concentrate and loss of ambition and drive.

The severity of jet lag symptoms correlates with the direction of travel. Most travelers report that jet lag is at its worst when traveling from west to east. It is thought that the reason for this is that the body clock and circadian rhythm is shortened to less than 24 hours when traveling east. This is because the length of the travel day is compressed to less than 24 hours.

As of now, there is no quick fix to cure the symptoms of jet lag. However there are a few tips for dealing with jet lag on your next company travel trip.

Company Travel: Tips For Dealing With Jet Lag

--Natural light tends to help overcome jet lag at a faster rate. So if at all possible, stay outside during the day so your body clock can reset itself to the time of day in your new location.

--Adjust your bedtime to the time at your new location so your body won't be as shocked upon awakening the next morning.

--Immediately upon arrival at your new location, change the time on your watch and schedule your meals as well as sleeping patterns according to your new time zone.

--If possible, arrive at the location of your business meeting a day or two ahead of schedule so your body has a chance to readjust and the symptoms of jet lag have diminished. That way you will have a better chance of being in top form during your meeting.

So although there is no instant cure or magic pill you can take to alleviate jet lag once the symptoms have set in, you can still go a long way towards lessening the severity of the symptoms by preparing your body beforehand and working to reset your body clock within the first day of your arrival. If you travel a lot for company travel, then you have probably already had to deal with jet lag. If you are planning your first company travel by airplane, the best advice is to arrive a day or so before your meeting so your body has a chance to catch up to its new time zone.