Tips on beating jet lag.

Before coming to Australia I was really dreading the jet lag. I didn't really want to make a habit of napping through the day and missing out on what was going on. Through some divine miracle, I didn't really suffer any when I got here, so I thought i'd write up what I did to avoid it in case it helps anyone else!

The information in this post is based on my flight time, but how you deal with jet leg depends on the time of your flight/duration/time change between destinations. 

My flight details:

Manchester Airport Terminal 1

Flight departure 8:30pm

Dubai Airport

Flight Arrival: 7:45 (local time)
*2 hour wait*

Flight Departure: 10:15am
Time difference compared to back home: +4hrs

Melbourne Airport 

Flight Arrival: 6:35am (local time)

Time difference compared to back home: +11hrs 

1. Start as you mean to go on. Because the time difference between England & Australia was +11hrs, this meant that I was pretty much sleeping the complete opposite of what I do now. The night before I set off I tried to sleep as much as I could so I could then stay up all night on the plane the night after.
2. Adapt your sleeping early on the plane. To get a real good head start on beating the lag, I decided that on the plane I would sleep Australian time instead of British. This meant that straight away on my 7 hour flight to Dubai I had to do an all nighter. The excitement helped to keep me awake, and the TV kept me occupied for a good few hours. I tried to keep myself doing different things so I wouldn't get bored like watching a movie, then reading a chapter of my book, then watching an episode of one of my favourite TV series, then maybe write up a blog post or speak to people back home on Facebook (yes that's right, I had WiFi on the plane).
3. Walk around a lot. You should also do this to avoid deep vein thrombosis, but getting up every couple hours or so to stretch your legs, even if it isn't for the toilet, helps you stay up. 
4. Drink a lot of water. Keeping refreshed and hydrated is very important, and luckily the drinks on board my flight were free, so I just kept myself stocked up with water and it really helped to keep me awake.
5. Plane food sucks, but eat as much as you can. Keeping your energy up will help to keep you awake so try and eat as much of the nasty plane food as you can.
6. When it's time to sleep, sleep. This might have been a lot easier for me had there not been a screaming baby for 80% of my second flight.
7. Keep yourself busy. When I arrived, I had plenty to be sorting out and didn't really get chance to sit down and relax. I was up walking most of the day sorting out my phone contract, bank account and shopping for my room essentials. At around 4pm I went to sit on campus to use the WiFi and let everyone know at home that I made it here safe. After half an hour I could feel my eyes getting heavy so went for a walk around campus then back to my room to unpack. I finally let myself sleep around 7pm and slept right through until 8am.

Other people might have more tips/find that the complete opposite of some of these works for them! But after finding I didn't suffer with jet lag at all, I thought i'd share what worked for me. I'll be re-testing these on my way home in 3 and a half months.
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

On my way.

So here I go. Off on an adventure, completely by myself. I'm like Bilbo Baggins. If you went back 5 years and told 16 year old me that i'd be doing this, there's absolutely no way i'd believe you. I'm currently sat on my Emirates flight on the way to Dubai. Looking at the map, i'm just flying out of Europe as I write this.
Without a doubt the most difficult part of this whole thing was saying goodbye to my family. It's the first and only time I kind of wished we weren't so close, then it would have been so much easier. But we're so incredibly close knit and i'm going to miss them all so so much, especially my sister, Emma (sorry Mum & Dad).
As soon as I stepped onto the plane, I wasn't upset anymore, I was just flabbergasted at how swish the plane was! Friends and family had told me about the A380's but they didn't do them justice. There's little twinkly lights on the ceiling like stars and when I sat down the air hostess (pause for Busted outburst) was handing out warm lemon-scented flannels on a silver tray using silver tongs. I can't cope with the poshness! And don't get me started on the TV. I've already watched 2 Star Wars films, i'll probably start a 3rd soon.
For once, the plane food was LOVELY. Chicken, cheesey mash, gravy and vegetables. With a tuna salad starter, a chocolate pudding dessert and a baby pack of Tic Tac's for afterwards.
Next to the TV there are multiple types of plug sockets and USB ports to charge phones and things with. Then there's the whole reason i'm able to write this blog post - free wifi! It feels so strange to be messaging my family and browsing Facebook whilst up in the air.
I'd love to go upstairs and see what the business class looks like but i'll like a bit of a peasant up there.
I also got a free pillow and blanket. So I am nice and cosy.
If the woman in front of me would stop kicking up a fuss and the man next to me would stop snoring then I am in for a very pleasant flight.
The next time I write i'll hopefully be in my new home.
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝