Your boss says…..We are sending you to Asia for 5 days. The adventure sounds great – traveling on the company dime and experiencing a different culture all while doing what you love. But traveling across time zones can be torture. Plus you are only there for five days and it takes a day to get there! How can you be comfortable, upbeat and perform your job without being a zombie? There are so many variables that contribute to a good international trip versus a bad trip. From the airlines – delays and weather – to the passengers – cold and flu season – to jet lag – it can all be a big mess. Especially when it comes to traveling on long overseas flights, being in a metal tube for 20 hours is no picnic.

Airline travel can affect your daily health and performance. But there are a few things you can do to keep you healthy in the air and make you more comfortable when you land. Here are the top 5 travel tips from Uplift Ventures LLC.

1. Prepare before you leave – have a health kit ready and packed including your own ear buds, a blanket, some snacks (lots of snacks actually if you are traveling internationally as you never know when a delay can derail you) vitamin c if you feel any cold symptoms coming on as that can help protect you in the air and ibuprofen for any aches and pains.
2. Add the eye mask to your list of must haves – An eye shade can help you relax on the plane and block out the light allowing you to get a bit of shut eye and relax your senses. Don’t take the nylon ones that the airline gives you as they are paper thin and may not even help. Instead invest in a cushy pair with padding to block out the light.
3. Saline solution is your friend – before, during and after the flight keep using a saline solution. Sinuses tend to dry out on an airplane and saline will keep your sinus hydrated and protect from germs in the air.
4. Get up and move – During the flight make sure you move around or do some simple exercises in your seat to get those legs moving – even lifting your legs up and down and flexing your ankles can help. When you arrive at your destination get that blood flowing by taking a walk when you arrive and take another walk after you eat lunch or dinner as it will help with digestion (stomach issues are a major source of irritation for travelers) Walking can also allow for a better night’s sleep too. A hot bath can help to sooth the body and relax your body for sleep, especially after a long day or travel and especially before you lie down for the night when you arrive to your destination.
5. Don’t immediately go to bed in your new destination especially if it is day time – embrace the natural light as it helps to reprogram your body to your new destination. To reprogram your body and reset your internal clock to the time zone you are in now try the Uplift app. The Uplift app ends jet lag naturally and guides travelers though key pressure points to unlock the internal body clock allowing travelers to reset it providing a more enjoyable trip and minimizing the effects of long distance travel.

These are just a few suggestions to make your time in the air more enjoyable.

Whether you're a "Road Warrior" who has piled up thousands of Frequent Flier Miles, or someone who is planning a vacation to a distant location, you are likely to experience the phenomenon of "jet lag," which can have a profound effect on your sleep and alertness. Every day, millions of travelers struggle against one of the most common sleep disorders — jet lag. For years, jet lag was considered merely a state of mind. Now, studies have shown that the condition actually results from an imbalance in our body's natural "biological clock" caused by traveling to different time zones. Basically, our bodies work on a 24-hour cycle called "circadian rhythms." These rhythms are measured by the distinct rise and fall of body temperature, plasma levels of certain hormones and other biological conditions. All of these are influenced by our exposure to sunlight and help determine when we sleep and when we wake.

When traveling to a new time zone, our circadian rhythms are slow to adjust and remain on their original biological schedule for several days. This results in our bodies telling us it is time to sleep, when it's actually the middle of the afternoon, or it makes us want to stay awake when it is late at night. This experience is known as jet lag.

The National Sleep Foundation