Adjusting Your Body Clock To A Different Time Zone

Do you feel disoriented, irritable, and fatigued as soon as you landed on the tarmac of another country? Will it cause you a headache? They are such annoying inconveniences to your well-planned vacation, aren't they? Well, you are not alone because most probably, your fellow passengers, and maybe even the flight attendants who are taking care of you, might be experiencing the same thing, probably even worse than you do.

This is what you call a jet lag, your body's reaction to the changing time zones. In addition, jet lag may be exacerbated by conditions inside the aircraft: unfamiliar on-flight meals, cramped spaces, continuous low-level noise, and lack of sleep. As your body clock adjusts to the new time zone, jet lag lessens. Recovery period is about one day per time zone crossed.

Why Do You Get Jet Lag

Your body has its own body clock, which regulates your body's biological rhythms. Here's a simplified version of how it works. Do you notice that you wake up at 6 AM without the alarm clock waking you up? Or a daily 8am pee break is in order? Do you feel really hungry around 12 noon every day? Or do you feel the need to hit the sack at 9 in the evening?Do you ever get the feeling of your bed calling you around 9 PM every night? That's your body clock running. Just like an alarm clock, your body clock sends out reminders that you need to do something at a specified time.

Your body clock is regulated by your country's time zone. Within your time zone, your body clock is conformed and adjusted to the local environment via external cues referred to as zeitgerbers, the most important and the strongest of which is sunlight.

Now, when you travel across the world in an airliner, you cross different time zones quickly due to the fast speed of today's jets. Since the journey across time zones is so fast, your body doesn't have plenty of time to adjust to the change. Your whole body clock becomes out of synch with all the destination's time zone since it is subjected to a daytime and night cycle that's dissimilar to the rhythms your whole body is used to. Hence, your body's natural pattern is interrupted. The rhythms that determine the schedule for eating, resting, body's temperature variance, and hormone regulation don't correspond to the new surroundings. As a result, you feel the negative effects of an out-of-sync body clock.

Naturally, your body adjusts to the new time zone. How fast the adjustment is depends on the individual. You might be one of the few ones who experience very little, even hardly noticeable, disruptions. A friend travelling with you may require a number of days to adjust to the new schedule so he could enjoy his holidays to Cyprus 2012 after the flight from mainland USA.

Thankfully, jet lag is temporary and there are lots of ways to help you feel better. Click this link, look for tips about easing up jet lag, and book the vacation of your dreams. After several journeys, you would be accustomed to that feeling.

Enjoying Other Country's Cuisine

Going on a holiday is one learning experience. When you travel, you get the chance to see world-renowned sites, view picturesque landscapes, melt the stress away at the beach, engage in an activity that you've always wanted to try out, and interact with friendly locals. Travelling is also one gastronomic experience. Most go and travel to other countries for different culinary experiences.

Yes, you would definitely want to try the exotic, strange-looking, mouthwatering delights that you see on the restaurants, cafe's, bistros, and even on sidewalk stalls. You, however, would still want to be careful with what you eat and not avoid getting a stomach flu.

Here are some ways you can avoid getting your stomach upset.

1. Food at home is not generally safer from food abroad. Intestinal distress or what is commonly known as the traveller's tummy comes from eating food that your stomach is not accustomed to.

2. Shun eating uncooked meat, especially if not used to eating raw back home. Uncooked meat provides an ideal environment for disease-causing bacteria to thrive. The same holds true with seafood dishes. Ensure that your food gets cooked really well.

3. Hot beverages are generally safe as the hot water kills the bacteria. It is best to drink the beverage hot and without potentially contaminated milk. If you want to add milk or cream, use pasteurised milk or cream that are packed in sealed containers.

4. Fresh animal's milk is good, however, they need to be pasteurised to make it fit for human consumption. This applies to other dairy products such as yogurt and cheese.

5. When purchasing dishes from a food establishment, order your meal well done, and eat them while they are still really hot. Be careful of dishes with uncooked veggies or eggs that are still runny.

6. If at all possible, take notice of how your food is getting prepared. Do not eat food that is prepared by handlers who are not practicing good hygiene. You should avoid food from food handlers or servers who are touching their face, chewing gum, smoking, sneezing or coughing near food, or having dirty hands or fingernails.

7. Before eating fruits and vegetables that you bought from a roadside stall, make sure that you wash them thoroughly. Chemical sprayed on the crops prior to harvesting can be washed out.

8. Before taking cheap holidays to Turkey, Spain, Greece or some other country on the globe, it's a good idea to adhere to a classic, verified food-safety tip: carry spices. Spices such as chilies and turmeric have anti-bacterial attributes which make dishes safer to eat. Additionally, they make foods taste better still. You can bring your favourite spices or buy them locally.

You've now learned tips on how to stay healthy while having a gastronomic adventure. Your satisfaction guaranteed, you will genuinely cherish your vacation not only for the attractions and sounds also for the tastes being offered.