As a business owner, there are times when you need to travel to other countries to make new contacts and close deals. Travelling can be exhausting, and you might feel like everything’s fine until you get to your hotel room. There, you might have problems falling sleep, waking up too early, oversleeping, or feeling excessively tired all day long. The long journey threw off your internal clock, but you can reset it.
Under normal circumstances, your internal body clock, officially known as your circadian rhythm, helps you wake up and fall asleep naturally. Flying across the world throws off your internal clock, and it takes just a bit of effort to reset it. Consider following these steps:
- Try to avoid napping. Even if you stayed up half the night and woke up early in the morning, resist the urge to fall asleep midday. The best way to chase away tiredness is to take a brisk walk. Breathing in fresh air as you walk is as good as drinking a cup of coffee when it comes to increasing alertness.
- Remember to set your alarm and wake up at the same time every day. Even if you stay up too late, waking up early can tire you out sufficiently by your normal bedtime.
- Once your internal clock resets, aim to be strict with yourself when it comes to your bedtime. Staying up too late can throw off the internal clock you’ve worked so hard to reset.
- There also have been recent studies discussing light exposure and how daylight exposure impacts our sleep cycle.
Travelling for business can be hard on your body. For an easier time resetting your internal clock, try to eat healthy and avoid drinking too much alcohol while abroad. Also, it’s a good idea to make time to exercise between or after meetings when possible.