Tips to avoid jet lag when traveling abroad

The prospect of dealing with jet lag has kept many travelers from scheduling overseas flights. If you’re finally taking a long-planned vacation over multiple time zones, symptoms like fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and nausea can keep you from enjoying your time abroad.

The physical and emotional distress of jet lag happens when exposure to light and dark is misaligned with your body’s internal clock. You need to help your body gradually adjust to the new time zone, and this adjustment starts even before you arrive at your destination.

If you  need to hit the ground running when you travel, here are tips and remedies suggested by experts to help keep jet lag from negatively impacting your travel experiences.

• First of all, get plenty of rest before leaving on your trip. Some experts suggest gradually changing sleep patterns before departure, if possible, to align more with the time zone of your destination.
• Plan ahead, pack early, and don’t cram too much activity into the last day prior to leaving (forego the bon voyage party!).
• Arrive at eh airport early so you have plenty of time to check in and relax. This will set the tone for your flight.
• Drink plenty of water. Limit alcohol, coffee, or caffeinated sodas during the flight. These drinks add to dehydration which results from re-circulated air in the plane.
  
• Eat small quantities of food or consider fasting during the 12 hours prior to the wake cycle at your destination.
• Set your watch to the new time zone as soon as you board the plane, and try to sleep enroute. Catching some zzz’s during the flight will help you be more functional upon arrival and enable you to get on local time more quickly.
  
• While the temptation to watch one movie after the other may be hard to overcome, make sure you get up and move. Exercise at your seat and walk the aisles to keep your blood flowing.  This could prevent a blood clot or deep vein thrombosis, which can be very serious, even deadly.
• Upon arrival get out in fresh air and sunshine, if you arrive during the day. Taking a walk in sunlight will help your body re-set to the new time zone.
  
• If you arrive in the daytime, resist the urge to sleep for even a short time. If absolutely necessary, limit your nap to half an hour—nothing longer.
• If you arrive at night, exercise or walk around, preferably where there’s a source of light since light helps reset your body’s natural clock. Staying indoors will worsen jet lag, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Images from free sources. 

How to leave your travel loyalty program (and you really should)

Guest post by Christopher Elliott, author of “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). This column originally appeared in USA Today.

Maybe there's no 12-step program for it, but there are plenty of ways to leave your travel loyalty program. And plenty of people want to get out. 

Do you belong to a lot of "reward" programs?

 Steve Danishek, a travel agent from Seattle and million-miler, is one of them. He says airlines have added new fees, made it harder to get an award seat and continue to dilute their programs. "The programs are in decline," he adds.

But how to leave? There's no better time to ask than right now when many loyal frequent fliers are taking end-of-year mileage runs designed to help them reach elite status. But before answering, let's take a quick inventory of the recent program declines – and there are many. It turns out leaving your loyalty program may be the easy part of the equation.

Why you should leave your loyalty program

More rewards are based on dollars spent.

The latest trick: "dynamic" award pricing that changes based on demand, which makes many award seats out of reach for the average traveler. Also, instead of rewarding loyalty, travel companies are giving their best perks to the big spenders. That makes the loyalty game almost unwinnable for many travelers.

If you have lifetime status on one of the airlines or are a business traveler on an expense account, it might be worth sticking around. Otherwise, there may be better ways to spend your time and money than chasing the next elite level, says Steven Ryals, owner of Notiflyr, a travel deal site. 

Families are less likely to reap rewards
from airline loyalty programs.

Remember, points and miles almost always lose value. In other words, a "free" award ticket that cost 25,000 points last year may require another 10,000 points next year. You might also have to pay a fee to redeem the miles.

And one other thing: Check the terms of your program, which are absurd. For example, did you know that your miles don't really belong to you? Your travel company can change the rules at any time, for any reason. It's all buried in the fine print.

Here are your options if you want to quit

If there's a nicotine patch for frequent fliers, it's shifting to a points-based credit card. You might receive rewards that are as good as or better than your airline or hotel loyalty perks. If you move your spending to a points-based credit card you might realize more perks.

It's hard to be a true "winner" in many of
today'sloyalty programs.

Cash-back cards are also great for kicking the habit. That's what Bud Nykaza, a retired marketing researcher from Maui, recently did. He stopped participating in his airline loyalty program and moved to a Costco Visa card for travel. "They give you a 3% rebate on all of your travel purchases," he says. "That is worth more than the value of a mile earned with a credit card."

Credit card programs are just a temporary fix. The real problem is that you're collecting points that lose value, that don't belong to you, and that may be unusable. Worse, you may be spending more money than you otherwise would. Only the travel company or credit card is really benefiting from that kind of purchasing behavior.

You might be better off finding a credit card with a lower interest rate and no annual fee. Then buy a ticket or book a hotel room at the lowest price, without regard for the points or miles you might earn. Over time, that strategy will save lots of money.

Ready to leave? Here's how to leave your loyalty program

Take the rest of your miles and book a flight to a warm-weather destination. Burn your hotel points on a suite overlooking the ocean. Go enjoy your vacation. Then take a pair of scissors to your loyalty card – and never look back.

"It makes no sense to participate in loyalty programs anymore," says Mike Gnitecki, a recent loyalty program quitter who works for a hospital in Tyler, Texas. "Most of the major airlines and hotel chains have gutted their loyalty programs. I now shop almost exclusively based on price."

Three annoying reasons to leave your loyalty program now

1. Dynamic award pricing

Airlines and hotels favor dynamic
award pricing model.

Many travel companies have stopped using fixed award charts to determine what you get for your points and miles. Instead, they use a dynamic model. Less desirable flights cost less, but award seats on the most popular flights cost more.

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and, most recently, American Airlines, InterContinental Hotels and Marriott now do this.

2. Revenue-based programs

Revenue-based programs award miles and points based on how much you spend, as opposed to how many miles you fly or nights you stay. Customers who spend a lot benefit from a revenue-based program. But travelers who simply travel often will see less return from their loyalty program. American, Delta and United have this type of program in place.

3. Redemption fees

A travel company may charge a fee to redeem your points or miles. For example, American has a $75 fee for award tickets or mileage upgrades requested less than 21 days before departure. So much for a "free" ticket. Every major airline and any other travel company that can get away with it is now doing this.

Photos from free sources.

Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park

Hiking the Fire Wave Trail in Valley of Fire State Park

The name is the first clue of what visitors will discover. Within the 42,000 acres of Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada is a huge expanse of accessible and postcard-worthy naturally sculpted red sandstone. The result of shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, followed by extensive erosion over 150 million years, Valley of Fire is one of the most beautiful yet least known parks we have visited.

Bee hive formations invite visitors to explore.

With sunlight shining on formations such as Beehives, Petrified Logs, White Domes, and Seven Sisters, the sandstone fairly gleams from one end to the other. Colored by iron oxide, silica, and manganese, it’s not the glitz of Las Vegas (about an hour’s drive away) but the glamorous landscape that only Mother Nature can create.

Driving in Valley of Fire State Park is an adventure itself.

Although Valley of Fire became the state’s first park in 1934, people have traversed this maze of cliffs, boulders, slot canyons, and arches for eons. Visitors driving the hilly 10.5 mile Valley of Fire Road today stop often to admire unusual formations created by wind and water.

 

For the adventurous there are hiking trails, one of which leads to Mouse’s Tank, a natural basin named for an outlaw who used the area as a hideout in the 1890’s. Rainbow Vista is an excellent photo stop along the winding park road which provides a panoramic view of multi-colored sandstone. One of the park’s many picnic areas is available at White Domes, where a 1.25 mile scenic trail leads to a slot canyon.

Arch Rock shows the power of wind and water to sculpt solid rock.

Historical features include Atlatl Rock where you can see outstanding petroglyphs, examples of ancient Indian rock art including depiction of the atlatl, a notched stick used to throw primitive spears. Nearby is Arch Rock, a formation sculpted by blasting winds and eroded by infrequent rains in this desert setting.

Petroglyphs at the top shed light on life for early settlers in the park.

Perhaps the most recognizable sight in the park is Fire Wave, undulating striped formations of red and white rocks. Even though we arrived there at high noon in mid-September, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a 1.5 mile hike to experience the unique wave formations at the end of the trail.

Undulating patterns of red and white sandstone shine in sunshine.

Despite the nearly 100-degree weather, we hiked over sandstone rocks and plateaus with distinct striations in varying patterns and colors. White and red (truly) rocks stretched out before us, enticing our feet to continue walking, to see what lay ahead. We really didn’t want to leave, even with the rocks absorbing heat from the sun and reflecting it back on us. I can only imagine how beautiful the Fire Wave would be at either sunrise or sunset.

Contrasting colors add beauty to nature's stunning landscapes.

Unlike anything we had ever seen, Valley of Fire is a vast, virtually untouched wilderness, aptly described as an “Adventure in Color.”, Rocks change hue and mood with shifting angles of the sun, so you might see a different portrait whenever you go. As a true desert landscape (average annual rainfall is four inches), plants, animals, artifacts, and rocks are precious and protected by law. 

Fire Wave is a moderately easy trek; don't miss it when you visit..

During your visit, make time to stop at the Visitor Center where you’ll learn more from multiple exhibits on the geology, ecology, and history of the park.

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier