Jet Ahead of Jet Lag With These 6 Simple Steps
Published March 31st, 2023
There’s so much to get excited for when planning a trip across different time zones. I get so excited that I immediately start packing my days of all the local activities that I can imagine myself doing. I’ll even plan for more meals than I normally eat just so I can try more restaurants.
If you’re anything like me, you often forget that we’re human and our bodies need rest. And when you’re on the other side of the planet, those times are literally backwards from what your body is expecting. Yes, the dreaded jet lag takes effect.
The good news is it doesn’t have to, at least, not for very long. You can definitely avoid jet lag. I’ve had 13-hour time displacements take less than a day to get through, and before I can even get confused by English loan-words written on Korean road signs, I’ve already adjusted to the local time.
It takes some work and with these tips, you can better avoid jet lag through your travels.
1. Get lots of rest
Take a couple of days before your trip to make sure you get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep per night. This can really help when adjusting to a new time zone, as your body won’t struggle too much from a lack of rest.
2. Start adjusting before you fly
Adjusting your sleep schedule before you fly can help you better adapt to the new time zone. Try gradually shifting your bedtime and wake-up time a few days before your trip to align with your destination's time zone. This will help your body get used to the new schedule before you even leave. Be careful not to let this compromise the amount of sleep you get!
3. Sleep during the flight
I know, I know, this is much easier said than done. There’s a lot of factors working against you, least of all the noise of the plane. If this prevents you from getting some needed shut-eye during a long flight, invest in some noise-canceling headphones. They do wonders for exactly these types of pervasive hums. At the very least, get some ear plugs, which may not be as effective, but you’d be surprised how much they do help.
If you need a little help getting to sleep on a plane, try taking a supplement like melatonin. That’s your body’s hormone that regulates your sleep pattern, so taking some in anticipation for that pattern to change might help.
Also, try to avoid coffee or any caffeinated drinks before or during the flight. Even if it’s a part of your regular routine, remember that routine is about to shift a potential several hours. Get your coffee fix after you’ve settled into the new time zone.
4. Adopt local time ASAP
When you arrive at your destination, try to sync your day to the local time as immediately as you can. Eat at the times you would normally but adjusted for the local times, do any activities one might do at appropriate local times, and, maybe most importantly, sleep when you would normally. All this will contribute to tricking your brain into thinking you’re in your home time zone, and your body rhythms will start to adjust right away.
5. Don’t nap too much
Depending on how far removed you are from your home time zone and the duration of your traveling, the urge to take a nap once you’ve reached your destination could be strong. A quick pick-me-up nap might do the trick, especially if you have trouble sleeping on flights. But be careful, this is a slippery slope. What you plan as a 10-minute cat-nap can easily turn into several hours into your day, pushing you further out from getting adjusted. Instead, go out for a walk, have a meal, grab that coffee you definitely didn’t have on the flight.
6. Stay hydrated
This is a strange one, but hear me out. Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated will keep your body running smoothly on all fronts. If you’re changing things up by, let’s say, going to the other side of the world where day is night and night is day, then you’ll want your body to accept those changes as smoothly as possible. Think of it as lubricant for all your body’s gears and engines.
It doesn’t take much of a time jump for your body to feel the difference. Even the 3-hour skip from Toronto to Vancouver was enough for me to want to pre- AND post-meal nap. But thankfully I’ve taken on these strategies that hopefully means I can maximize my time in any other place I may want to go next (because I’ve seen all I need to see in Vancouver.)
About Eddy Chung
Eddy is a wild dreamer. With fantasies of becoming a musical phenomenon, allowing him to travel the world, if for nothing else but to try as many different foods from different cultures as he can.
He has fulfilled, at least in part, some (maybe) of that dream.
Coming from immigrant parents, he has had the fortunate privilege of travelling back to their homeland of Korea on several occasions at an early age, which is how he caught the travel bug-type Pokemon.