melatonin – TravelCommentator

15th December 2024

Medicines: Preparing for the Unexpected

A recent trip to Europe made me realise my lack of planning regarding health and whether I should have taken any medications with me as a precaution. Of course I was super confident I’d be fine and thought I’d be immune from any of the usual nasties, like a cold, a sore throat, etc. What made me think this way? Well, throughout the “COVID-19 pandemic” I was fine. No colds, no sore throats, no fevers and no coughs, etc. I did get something but didn’t get tested to see whether it was COVID or not. It did feel different and it wasn’t like any cold or influenza (which I haven’t had for probably 30 years) so it made me think this has to be...

How to Survive Jet Lag, My Take

The scourge of the long haul flyer. Yes, the loss of sleep, the heavy head, the tired eyes, the feeling of fatigue and irritability. These are the psycological and physiological effects that will weigh you down for several days. Is jet lag avoidable? Or can it at least be managed so that it doesn’t wreck travel plans? Here’s what I think… I will be honest, in my early days of crossing multiple time zones I too suffered the occasional jet lag. The only way I knew how to counteract the effects was to just go to sleep at my earliest convenience. I basically tried to sleep it off, but of course that caused other issues. I would be out of kilter for a few...