8 Ways To Beat Jet Lag

Ah, the seemingly unavoidable companion of mid to long-haul traveling. Jet lag makes us feel sluggish, it steals precious activity time at our destination, and it makes us hungry at the weirdest times when nowhere is open to serve. So, what can we do to beat jet lag, even if we’re only at our destination for a couple of days?

1. Hydrate

Drinking water is a basic thing that we should be doing all the time, but it’s even more important when we’re at altitude. Our body dehydrates quicker in the air and when we’re dehydrated we have lower energy levels and can’t function at our best. It’s an easy fix. Bring an empty refillable water bottle with you to the airport and fill it up once you’re past security. The stewards on board the flight are normally fine refilling larger bottles and it stops you having to buzz them every hour for those tiny water bottles they provide for free…

2. Prepare a few days before

When we’re flying to a different time zone, we’re fundamentally altering our body clock  – that’s not a quick fix. In order for your body to not be shocked by a quick, sharp change to its routine, start incrementally changing your schedule a couple of days before.

Whether that’s staying up an hour or two later or waking up a little earlier, these little shifts make a world of difference in the long run. There are loads of jet lag calculators online where you can put in your home airport, destination, and flight times and it’ll work out your optimal sleeping patterns leading up to your flight and when you’re onboard.

3. Change your watch on the plane

This is the easiest way to figure out whether you should be awake or not on your flight. As soon as you board, change your watch to your destination’s time zone. This way when you feel yourself lagging, you can quickly check your watch and know if you should be catching a quick nap or trying to crash out for the night.

Quick warning though, if you’ve got a change in another time zone or city, remember that your watch isn’t right when you’re looking at gate times. I normally change my watch to the final destination and keep my phone on its auto-time shift so I have both. 

4. Don’t hit the booze

I am so guilty of not listening to this advice and I always regret it and wake up with a scratchy throat that’s a combo of the filtered plane air and free onboard wine. Like I’ve said, you get more dehydrated at altitude, and alcohol is not going to help that at all. One glass is fine, and I know it steadies a lot of nervous fliers or people wanting to get in a power nap, but don’t flag down the stewards once an hour on your long-haul flight. Alcohol + altitude+ time difference = recipe for feeling awful.

5. Get up and stretch

When you are awake on the flight and know that you need to stay awake for a while, it’s good to keep your body moving. When we’re sat still for too long our body wants to rest and our energy levels dip, meaning it’s more likely we’re going to sleep when we don’t want to. Having a little stroll up the aisle or wiggling your legs in your seat are easy ways to combat this.

6. Bring an eye mask

I’ve been on a lot of long flights and I still honestly don’t know the logic behind when they dim the cabin lights. I reckon it’s based halfway between the departure and arrival time zones, but either way they always seem to be slightly out, especially when they’ve got to get meals out before landing and you end up having breakfast at 4am local time.

So, don’t rely on the cabin lighting and don’t rely on the person with the window seat closing their window covers – bring an eye mask. Some airlines include these in their long-haul packs but it’s always good to carry one regardless. 

7. Stick to your schedule

I know you’re going to want to sleep on the plane, everyone does. After all, there are only so many blockbuster movies and odd episodes of sitcoms you can watch in one go, but if you’ve worked out your schedule on a jet lag calculator, stick to it.

Being halfway in between the time zones is going to make you feel awful too, so if you need to stay awake and you feel yourself lagging, grab a coffee and some more water, get up, and have a walk and you should feel a little bit more alive. Similarly, if you need to sleep, put on your headphones and eye mask, and try to get comfy, don’t stay up because “you’re not quite tired yet”, you’ll regret it when you land. 

8. Book a low effort, but unmissable activity for the next morning

This is my favourite thing to do if I know jet lag is going to get me. By booking something first thing, it forces you to get up and get going. It also makes you excited for your trip and gives you something to look forward to when you’re half awake, semi-crawling through customs. Once the first day and a half is out of the way, your body is normally pretty well adjusted, so make sure you’ve got plans to keep you awake and keep that jet lag at bay.

Jet lag, like death and taxes, is sometimes inevitable, but you can mitigate it so you don’t feel like an absolute zombie for the first couple of days of your trip. Remember jet lag normally hits more when you’re heading East, so factor that in if you’re coming home that way too. I’ve ended many trips by being really jet-lagged at work the next day – it’s not fun…