Overcoming Jet Lag…..
Over the last 30 plus years I’ve fine-tuned my jet lag plan, experimented with close friends and family (my favorite guinea pigs) to make sure it worked for others too before sharing it now. After the long flight and massive time change of long-distance travel comes the dreaded jet lag. Everyone reacts differently to jet lag, but I believe it catches up with us all in the end.
The plan to overcome jet lag requires advance planning so have all this in mind from the start…as in it starts with the flight planning. Your body can adjust more easily to time change when you split up the flights into segments of about 8 hours then a stop and rest. An overnight is ideal but that isn’t always practical, so a mid-way point stop is the next best thing. Try to arrive at your destination as close to bedtime as possible to avoid forcing yourself to stay awake any longer than necessary. More about that below.
If possible, try to start slowly changing your body clock towards your destination local time zone a week prior and each day adjust it by an hour. For each time zone you travel your body should take a day to adjust…so a trip to Indonesia with a 15-hour time difference will take about 15 days to accomplish slowly or you can go for my quick fix, it’s a challenge but it works!
On the morning of your flight…
No caffeine, and I do mean none! Very light and easy to digest snacks until boarding time.
Wear comfortable and non-binding clothing so you can sleep and or relax on the plane. If you worry about deep vein thrombosis compression garments (socks and or yoga pants) can help plus moving around the cabin with frequent stretching.
Once you board the plane water is your best friend. Never turn down a chance for a glass of water and continue to avoid all caffeine, alcohol, and soda. Eat very lightly (I fast) passing on the high carb and heavy dairy meals the airline provides. Consider ordering a special meal like the fresh fruit plate some airlines offer and supplement with packaged snacks from home. Since immigration officials will confiscate food brought in from foreign countries, bring only what you know you can/will eat on the plane (planning to buy more while on vacation for the return flight). Anything you don’t consume in flight should be taken away by the flight crew before landing. A few snack suggestions would be unsalted nuts, nut butters, packaged granola bars, dried fruits (these are high in sugar so limit these snacks), apples, trail mix, etc.
Try to sleep on the plane based on the plane’s landing time. If you arrive in the evening and it’s a 10-hour flight, sleep at the start and try to wake up a few hours before landing. If you arrive in the morning sleep nearer the end of the flight.
Walk around the plane often to allow your muscles to stretch, I typically do this so often people must think I’ve got ants in my pants. Plus, this helps prevent deep vein thrombosis.
Next step is based on your arrival time at your destination. This first day is the most important day for combating jet lag successfully. At this point the travel and lack of movement will have your brain begging for mercy and a quick nap…avoid the urge! If you arrive early in the day, or morning, you’ve got to keep moving as light exercise and sunlight are good ways to combat jet lag. You need to keep your brain engaged and don’t even think about a nap or going to bed early. Staying awake all day (caffeine is okay at this point but only in the morning), at least until 8PM, without a nap, is crucial. Once you make it to 8PM try to stay up another 30 minutes, if you are successful another 30 minutes. At that point 9PM is a perfect time for bed. Chances are you’ll wake the following morning well before your normal rising time but it’s the way jet lag works. Day 2 is a repeat of day 1, no naps and stay awake with fresh air and light exercise until 8PM again, 9PM even better. If you avoid naps and follow this plan you should be getting through the day easily by day 3. Now you should be able to sleep on a schedule for your local time zone.
Returning home is always the hardest part for a variety of reasons. Some people think it’s worse when traveling eastbound, others because you are anxious to get home. I believe it’s because you are adding more jet lag to a body that hasn’t fully recovered from your arrival at the start of your trip. So, your body is confused by adding another massive time change to your already messed up body clock. So, this is harder and usually takes longer. I’ve been able to overcome jet lag in 2 or 3 days by doing all that I suggested above for the trip to your destination but adding…
Day 1: When you return home follow the instructions above, staying awake until at least 9PM. On day 2 and 3, only, take a very mild sleep aid at bedtime, after the 3 rd night you are finished with the sleep aids as they are addictive. You can resume your normal drinking preferences after day 1. In the quest to shorten jet lags effects on your body naps are to be avoided at all costs, they will ruin the outcome and all your efforts will be for naught.