10 Tips To Avoid Jet Lag

A lot of you readers keep asking me how to avoid jet lag after a long flight. I have my own tips when I was working as a flight attendant and flew back and forth across the world. I will get you some examples from my jetlag; I fell asleep without hearing the phone ringing several times even if it was just next to my ear, had people who tried to wake me up during a dinner, been sleeping for 16 hours without knowing what happened and with felt so dizzy and confused.

How I do to avoid Jet Lag:

But I have learned have to handle it and I would like to share my experience with you what have reduced my jet lag and I hope that this can help you too 🙂

Here are my 10 Tips to avoid Jet lag: 

1. Reset the clock

To begin with, you should set yourself mentally for the new time zone you are going to. Reset the clock to the time that your final destination has, as soon as you get onboard, it affects your psyche correctly. When you eat on board, try to imagine that it is your dinner at your final destination, for example.

2. Stay awake as long as possible

Try to stay awake as long as possible. My best tip for that is to discover the town and walk, walk, walk everywhere. As soon as you sit down, you will feel sleepy. I’ve done it over several dinners and during a musical because I sat down comfortably. Whatever you do, keep moving as much as possible until it´s really time to go to bed. 

3. Upon arrival in the morning – take a power nap

If you land early in the morning, make sure to sleep maximum of 2 hours when you arrive at the hotel. You don’t want to spoil the rest of the day by walking around in a new exiting city by being super tired. Also make sure to only sleep two hours (!), not more, no matter how comfortable the bed is. The risk is otherwise that you end up out having jetlag.

4. Drink water

I know, it sounds boring, but it actually helps. Drink plenty of water on board the aircraft during the entire trip. It is good for the whole body, both during and after the flight! But don’t drink too much before you are going to sleep, then you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

5. Eat light food

Don’t eat heavy food, either on board the aircraft or when you have landed. The risk is that you feel very full and sleepy and want to go to bed right away. Instead, eat light food such as salad, sushi, fish and chicken. Eat something small every time you feel the hunger is there, it doesn’t mean that you can eat unhealthy due to that. A fruit is perfect!

6. Try to avoid alcohol

Many people believe that alcohol may help from jet lag, it doesn’t. Sure, it can be nice with a glass of wine or two, but don’t drink just because you think it will help towards your jet lag. Keep in mind that the air pressure up in the aircraft means that the alcohol has more power than usual.

7. Avoid coffee

Coffee can contribute to dehydration, and can do more harm than good. Dehydration is one of the symptoms of jet lag. Therefore, try to avoid drinking coffee when you fly if you want to avoid jetlag.

8. Stay in the sunlight

Try to expose yourself to the sun’s natural light. By exposing yourself to natural light it helps the body to recover and adjust to the new day-rhythm much faster.

9. Choose the right flight for you

Try to choose a flight that suits you and your routines. I prefer night flights because I usually sleep directly after dinner and like to wake up when we are landing. That suits me best, but I know a lot of passengers prefer daily flights instead, which can sometimes require a little more planning if you want to avoid jet lag as much as possible.

10. Work out during the flight

Get up, stretch your legs and walk around during the flight. That will also counteract jet lag. Make sure that you have a flow in your blood circulation. The body can otherwise easily adjust and think that it´s time to go to bed when you arrive but what is should be prepared for is going out and explore the city.

Do you have any other tips that can reduce jet lag?

Happy Travels!
// Charlotte