Therefore, I have done some research and devised a plan of attack that will hopefully minimize jet-lag. According to the information out there, jet lag is caused by a mismatch of the inner clock between that of your home timezone and your destination timezone. The main factors affecting jet lag are:
- Sleeping Schedule
- Eating Schedule
- Sunlight/Darkness
My plan was to try and acclimate my body to China time before I leave. Starting Sunday, I began sleeping and eating according to this new timezone. The light factor is harder to replicate, but during the day I sleep with my eye mask, which does an excellent job of blocking the light, and at nighttime in AZ I keep all the lights on in my room (although natural light would be ideal). Lastly, I take melatonin before going to sleep each day, as this was highly recommended by other travel writers.
I also found an awesome app that creates a personalized plan for you according to your destination and departure details. It's called Jet Lag Genie, and it's free for download on the App Store. I used it mainly for a guideline though, as the app only adjusts your sleep schedule a few hours, not fully meshing with the destination timezone. This works great if you have work or other responsibilities during the day and cannot completely flip your sleep schedule prior to leaving, but in my case, I wanted to fully switch to China time.
I hope this works out, fingers crossed!
再见
Sara
