- Traveling can take its toll on us for a variety of reasons, including stress, jet lag, and changes in routine.
- Bathroom habits can also be affected by travel.
- There are things you can do to make traveling less tiring, including adjusting your light exposure and activity schedule before you travel.
Travel days are exhausting. Whether you’re crossing multiple time zones on a plane or just driving a few hours to visit a relative, chances are you’ll be sleepy by the time you reach your destination.
As someone who is ready to take a nap whenever the opportunity presents itself, I always assumed that my travel fatigue was personality-related. However, it turns out that it happens to almost everyone.
But why? What is it about traveling from one place to another that makes us so exhausted? And what can people do to make their travels easier?
I spoke with Dr. Charlene Gamaldo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep and Wellness, a professor of neurology and vice provost at Johns Hopkins University. She said that every body (and every brain) is different, but there are some universal techniques to make the journey easier for you.
Why traveling wears us out
I travel a lot, but no matter how many times I do it, I find myself feeling sleepy when I get to my destination. Gamaldo told me that this is totally normal.
“From a circadian rhythm perspective, depending on the direction you’re traveling and how many time zones you’re crossing, that can certainly contribute to feeling tired,” she said.
Traveling also takes people out of their usual routine, and stress can also wear us down.
“There are things unrelated to sleep that add to the anxiety of catching the flight and making sure flights don’t get canceled,” Gamaldo said.
It makes sense. I always feel hyper-aware when I’m in an airport, making sure I’m heading to the right gate, dodging slow-moving pedestrians in the terminal, and searching for my signature bottle of water and pretzel purchased at Hudson News before boarding. By the time I’m on the plane or on the ground at my destination, I’m ready for a rest.
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Bathroom talk
I’ve certainly noticed this, and some of my close friends have confirmed that our bathroom habits often suffer when we travel.
I wasn’t planning on asking about this because I didn’t think it was relevant, but Gamaldo, unprompted, told me that bathroom behavior is also part of the travel fatigue story.
“A big way that people don’t always appreciate or, in retrospect, never made the connection is that GI disruption is probably the most common symptom with jet lag, not even fatigue or a sleep-related issue,” she said. “It’s usually your gut trying to get into this new circadian rhythm.”
Gamaldo said that calming your stomach can help your body adjust more quickly overall and help you feel less tired during your journey.
“One of the things that can help with your gut is staying hydrated,” she said. “It’s really important that you hydrate for fatigue as well to help with your gut motility.”
How to adjust
Whether your fatigue is caused by airport stress, an upset stomach, or good old-fashioned jet lag, there are things you can do to make traveling less tiring.
First, she said, “it’s really important to reflect on your past experiences to understand how aggressively you need to prepare for jet lag. If your body is prone to jet lag, you want to prepare one day for every hour of time zone change.”
It can also be helpful to create a routine when you travel. If you have a regular rhythm when it comes to packing, getting to the airport, and arriving at your gate, it can make the whole experience less stressful and therefore less tiring.
When it comes to regular jet lag, the best techniques for preparing your body clock are to adjust your light exposure and activity schedule before you travel, according to Gamaldo. This can help you adjust better during your trip, too.
“If you’re traveling two time zones back, you want to try to have your morning light exposure two hours earlier and then turn off your light exposure two hours earlier as well,” she said. “That’s really the most powerful way to do it in conjunction with activity.”
Gamaldo also said it helps to think about what your schedule will be when you arrive so you can prepare during the trip itself.
“On the plane, if you’re going to arrive in the morning at your destination, as much as you can, you want to rest or sleep on the plane,” Gamaldo said. “If you’re going to arrive and it’s close to dinner time, you probably want to refrain from eating on the plane if you can and have dinner there and transition to sleep.”
Gamaldo also said it’s important to be diligent about giving your body time to adjust, even on short trips, especially if past experiences tell you that you’re prone to travel fatigue.
“Typically, if people have a short trip, they’re more inclined to make a quicker return,” she said. “That’s a lot to ask of your body.”
Ultimately, she said, there are no real shortcuts to adjusting. Time, intention, and patience are your best tools for combating drowsiness when you travel.
“Things like melatonin can be helpful, but the good old method of using light and activity is the most effective way to reset your circadian clock,” Gamaldo said.
Zach Wichter is a USA TODAY travel reporter based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
