How to overcome Jetlag!

Yay! I made it to Cairo. Its Sunday and the first day of the work week here. I got a full nights sleep last night and I'm ready for the rest of the week. Sleep is very important to me. Even through my college years I rarely got less than 8 hours of sleep a night. And when I’m sleepy there’s no arguing with my alter ego, “Jezebel,” who on a daily basis tricks me into hitting the snooze or succumbing to 10 - 12 hours of sleep. (She’s very manipulative ya’ know)

Jetlag can be the worst, but over the last few years of my traveling experiences I’ve discovered a few ways I can avoid jetlag almost entirely. Half the battle is all in your head, so here are 5 tips on how to overcome Jetlag:

1.) The night before you travel stay up as late as possible. The idea is to mess up and confuse your sleep schedule and so you'll be ready for number...
2.) Sleep on the plane. For one it makes the trip go faster, plus you'll already be exhausted from staying up the night before. If sleeping upright is uncomfortable for you, as it is for most people, Dr. Brittnie suggests taking Tylenol PM with Melatonin (a natural relaxer) and you'll be sleeping with you're mouth open before the plane takes off.
3.) Do not keep track of the time while you're traveling. Try not to think about whether you would typically be awake or asleep at that time. The key is to confuse your body enough so that it will follow the light/dark schedule of wherever you're going.
4.) Once you arrive start tracking the time so that you can tell your confused self whether you're tired or not.
5.) The first couple of days are key so depending on the time of day you arrive here’s what to do:
LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON: Take a nap. Keep the windows open and lights on if necessary so your body know this is a JUST a nap.
EVENING: This is usually the most difficult time of day for jetlag so make sure you plan evening activities away from the bed. Shopping, museums, dinner, anything to keep yourself moving and distracted from sleep.
BEDTIME: Take another Tylenol PM and get in to bed even if you don’t feel sleepy.