30 Things to do when you have Jet Lag
It’s two o’clock in the morning. The flight from North America to Europe arrived early morning the day before and you had just enough time to buy that craved after chocolate before boarding your plane for other parts far, far from your passport country. On the day you arrived, after forcing your children to stay up until at least dinner time, none of you could keep your eyes open any longer. Finally, body and eyes heavy with sleep, you hit the pillow and were gone– only to wake up in the wee hours of the morning in your new time zone, wide awake and ready to conquer the world. The only problem is, your world is not yet awake.
So what do you do? It takes all the ingenuity in the world for the traveler, especially the traveler with children, to deal with jet lag. Here are just a few suggestions. Be sure to add your own in the comments!
- Play a game — preferably a non-thinking game.
- Have a 2am tea party with your children complete with the box of
shortbreadbiscuits,nope, on second thought those chocolates, you picked up at the airport. - Rearrange furniture (especially if you live in a 5th floor apartment and haven’t met your neighbors)
- Write a novel about travel. Pay special attention to the character who has jet lag.
- Unpack
- Bake cookies and then realize your oven won’t go above 200 degrees Farenheit, 90 degrees Celsius
- Take a bath
- Wake up the rest of your family so you have company in your misery.
- Dye your hair
- Write a grocery list
- Toss, turn and curse
- Drink hot milk
- Do the laundry from your trip
- Download your pictures
- Write a blog about jet lag
- Do your nails with the color of nail polish most popular in the country you are living.
- Toss, turn and curse
- Cry
- Help your kids arrange their books and toys on a shelf
- Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Read Crime & Punishment
- Read everything Dostoevsky ever wrote.
- Tell jokes with your 9 and 10-year-old boys and see who can laugh the loudest.
- Click like on every single Facebook status that comes through your news feed. (Until your wireless service fails you)
- Comment on all of your friends profile pictures
- Tweet about Jet Lag
- Toss, Turn and Curse
- Help your children dress your cats in doll clothes and put them in the doll carriage.
- Then watch your kids run up and down your hallway with said cats.
- Answer the doorbell when your neighbors come up to tell you that you woke them up at 2am. Then sigh and make everyone go back to bed.
Readers, what would you add? What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done to cope with jet lag?
Blogger’s note – I’ve included this picture because it is a quote too good to die in cyberspace comments! Thank you Jenni Gate – someone who I hope will be a more frequent guest-blogger on Communicating Across Boundaries!
Marilyn R. Gardner 
Get out the biggest tome of Japanese grammar or Kanji that I can find and let nature takes its course. Zzzzzzzz!
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Love this and yes, that would do it. Or, in my case, Arabic grammar…..
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Ha! Just what I need while I am in the throes of jet lag. Loved the ‘write a blog post about jet lag.’ Go for a run, that’s one thing I do. Or exercise in some way if it is too dark outside.
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Oh great idea to exercise. On the list now!
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Although then your endorphins get going and it’s even worse!
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We watch cartoons on the telly if they’re available or get up and have breakfast, get dressed and are raring to go by 7am so we can get out and do stuff early!
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Love the ‘use it to get up and do stuff early’ attitude! It’s true. You don’t want to miss a minute.
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I started a Harry Potter marathon and drank tea and ate shortbread biscuits at 1 am after I got back from a trip to the UK last winter. Way better than sleeping!
I’ve also tried going for a run at about 3 am after getting back from another trip… But then 3 separate cop cars kept circling around the neighborhood, checking up on me. Probably not the best idea going running so late…or is it early?;)
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Love it! I wonder how many neighbors phoned in your suspicious behaviour Hannah! That’s so funny.
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I can tell you one thing that I have never done “Wake up the rest of my family so I have company in my misery!” I love the peace and quiet if I happen to be awake and no one else isn’t. That has been rare, however. Dostoyevsky is a great option–I have done that. My current favorite thing to do when I toss and turn is listen to audio books, particularly the marvelous Patrick Tull who has done the entire Master and Commander series. If Tull can’t put me back to sleep, nothing will. Great list!
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Hahaha!!! In retrospect that really was a foolish thing to put on the list– especially if you have toddlers. I love the idea of audio books! Brilliant!
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I love this list, Marilyn! I have re-posted it on my blog today, and I want to thank you for posting my comment in a picture. I would love to be a more frequent guest blogger here. Your audience is wonderful. :)
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I’d love for you to write more ! Honored actually!
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Thanks! Count on it. I am honored to be asked. :)
AND I love the suggestion Christie made above too – I love audio books.
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Reblogged this on Nomad Trails and Tales and commented:
This is a great list for anyone who has ever suffered jet lag! And Marilyn was kind enough to re-post a comment I made on a previous guest blog post I did last week for her blog. Thank you, Marilyn!
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Thanks Jennie! I appreciate it!
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