Sometimes it takes a couple of days for your body to adjust to the local time zone, especially if you’re traveling thousands of miles. This phenomenon is called “jet lag.” It can cause you to wake up at odd hours and have trouble falling asleep during the night. The good news is that there are several foods that can help you get over this issue in a more natural way. Add these foods to your travel diet, and you should be able to fall right back into your normal sleep patterns!
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a great way to start your day and provide your body with sustained energy. One bowl of oatmeal contains about 5 grams of fiber, which helps keep you full for longer so you don’t binge on junk food later. It’s also packed full of protein, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and B vitamins that help promote a healthy metabolism. Add some fruit (bananas or strawberries) and nuts (almonds or walnuts) and you’ve got yourself a complete breakfast!
Oats are also rich in magnesium: one cup has close to 100% of your daily recommended intake! Magnesium helps regulate muscle relaxation so it can help alleviate those stiff muscles after a long flight–and who doesn’t want that?
Quinoa
Quinoa is a low-carbohydrate grain, with about 2 grams of carbohydrates per cooked cup. It contains all nine essential amino acids, which makes it a complete protein source. Quinoa is also high in fiber and contains iron, calcium and potassium — making it a great food to eat while traveling because it will help keep your energy levels up while reducing jet lag symptoms.
Cherries
In order to get your body into sleep mode after traveling, you can try eating foods that naturally contain melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate sleep and waking cycles in the body. It’s found in foods such as cherries, bananas and mangoes. If you want to take an extra step towards getting your body adjusted for jet lag, consider taking a supplement of melatonin as well.
Goji Berries
Goji berries are known for their high levels of antioxidants, helping with jet lag symptoms such as headaches, skin issues and more. In addition to being a great source of vitamin C, which helps reduce oxidative stress in your body and has been shown to improve sleep quality at night, goji berries are also rich in protein. Protein is essential for healthy hair and skin but can be difficult to get enough of on a regular basis. Goji berries contain the amino acid arginine, which helps boost blood flow throughout the body—including that needed by your brain during sleeping hours so it doesn’t feel exhausted during waking hours (which would lead to you feeling groggy).
Goji berries are also rich in iron! Because iron is necessary for all organs to function properly and help transport oxygen through our blood stream, low levels can result in fatigue or anemia—both common symptoms when traveling long distances or going through time zones quickly (whether by plane or train). If you’re prone to these side effects while traveling internationally (or even domestically), adding some fresh goji berry juice into your diet could help alleviate many potential problems before they start!
Ginger
- Ginger helps calm the nervous system and soothe nausea caused by jet lag.
- Ginger helps reduce stress, fatigue and insomnia associated with jet lag.
- Ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory that reduces pain in muscles and joints (particularly after long flights) as well as headaches caused by dehydration or poor circulation.
Bananas
Bananas are a great way to fight jet lag because they contain high levels of magnesium and potassium, which help produce serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is responsible for promoting calmness and relaxation, making it easier to sleep when you’re traveling. The magnesium found in bananas also helps reduce muscle tension, making them an ideal snack if you find yourself experiencing muscle spasms from being in a plane for so long!
Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is a great source of tryptophan, an amino acid which serves as the precursor to serotonin. Serotonin can help you get a good night’s sleep by relaxing your muscles and aiding in the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep-wake cycles. This is especially important since we tend to get less sleep during long plane rides, making it even more difficult for us to fall asleep at our destinations!
Chicken breast also contains other nutrients that can help reduce jet lag symptoms such as magnesium and vitamin B6. Magnesium helps relax tense muscles while vitamin B6 works together with tryptophan in helping synthesize serotonin so that you can feel drowsy after dinner time which coincides with when most flights take off or land
Celery
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It’s found in many foods, including nuts, seeds and legumes as well as whole grains. The green leaves of vegetables such as spinach and swiss chard contain magnesium too (but be sure to cook them first). Fruits like bananas, raisins and apricots supply some magnesium too… but not much!
Celery is also a good source of magnesium. It contains about 80mg per cup which is more than enough to help with jet lag symptoms since you need around 400mg per day to get the benefits from it.
Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts are an excellent source of selenium, a trace mineral that’s essential for the functioning of several organ systems in the body. Selenium deficiency is rare, but it can occur if you have a medical condition (such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease) that damages your intestines and prevents you from absorbing nutrients properly.
Selenium is important for the proper function of your thyroid gland, which controls how quickly your body uses energy, makes proteins and regulates metabolism. It also plays key roles in immune system health and male fertility as well as sperm production. It may also help prevent cancer.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for one last piece of advice, it is to try and eat as many of these foods in season as possible.
As a side note, if you happen to be traveling from Italy where the food is delicious and fresh, then chances are you’ll want to bring some of your favorite delicacies with you on the plane. You may be wondering what items are safe to travel with so we recommend checking out our blog post ere for an in-depth look at what’s safe and what’s not when flying with food items.
