Preparing for jet-lag with self-care and good sleep
Guest post by Ros Milani Gallieni, Founder of Jet Candy
Living in an age of contagion and the mental hurdles following the imposition of enforced lockdown, our lives are more digitally interconnected than ever before. We can work with colleagues across multiple time zones, permanently glued to our screens on phones and smart devices, as we try to keep on top of our never-diminishing workloads, compounded by the growth of the “always on” work culture that many of us have to subscribe to as a consequence of changing (and increasingly international) work patterns.
So perhaps it’s of little surprise that there has, in recent times, been an upwards incline in receptivity towards wellness trends, especially now that we are all the more aware of the positive effects of self-care. In short, we know we need to put our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing first before stepping into a travel schedule — and in many cases, that could be as simple as ensuring that we’re getting enough sleep.
According to data released by the Global Wellness Summit, one of the biggest trends identified for this year was a shifting focus from simply analysing sleep behaviours and offering generalised sleep solutions, to a keener and sharper understanding of true circadian health. It is perhaps worth bearing in mind that the global sleep market is worth an estimated $432 billion, and is predicted by Frost & Sullivan’s 2019 assessment to rise by 35% to $585 billion by 2024.
Many of the problems associated with jet-lag, even todays’ desk-lag and generally poor sleep can be traced back to the disruption of the circadian rhythms — the internal body clock that humans have evolved to become hypersensitive to, in so far as it is primarily responsible for conditioning everything from our sleep cycles to our metabolic systems, even to regulating our core body temperature. However, our 21st century lifestyles are increasingly infringing on this more and more. We are more commonly found glued to the bright lights of our devices before bed — not good — instead of winding down in a darkened room — important.
Whilst for many of us, it is simply impractical to overhaul our lives and really respond to what our circadian rhythms are telling us, there are several “coping” mechanisms that we can set in place, especially when we are looking at getting back on long-haul flights in 2021. Click the “Read More” link below to discover my top tips.
