Looking for a few tips on how to avoid jet lag? Want the best advice from an international traveller ( a real one who took her family around the world for a year?).
Need to know how to prevent jet lag and avoid arriving at your destination feeling like a zombie??
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Best Tips For Preventing, Avoiding & Getting Over Jet lag
A few years ago, my husband and I took out two kids (teenagers) and backpacked the world with them for a year.
Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. I think it was part of a midlife crisis.
Just joking.
It was the best time of my life. Truly fabulous. (I even wrote a book about our year away and what it REALLY looks like to take your family around the world for a year!).
Arriving in India. Our home for the next six weeks. Travelling as a family for a year was the best experience ever. But it wasn’t all a bed of roses…
I could give you many travel tips, including my favourite airport hacks, how to travel the world for free by housesitting and travel hacks for kids, but today, I wanted to share something else.
A travel hack that can either make or break a huge chunk of your trip (especially if you are limited on time and want to make the most of every precious hour).
The very dreaded…Jet Lag.
Jet Lag. How To Avoid It.
Jet lag. Is there anything worse than finding yourself wide awake at 3 am with the dreaded jet lag?
Pacing around the house like a deluded tiger, trying to decide whether you should watch TV or clean the cutlery drawer?
When my family and I backpacked around the world for a year, we took twenty-four international flights and seven internal flights – by the end of that year, we were experts on how to find cheap flights. We were also very well acquainted with jet lag.
By the end of our trip, each of us had discovered a few tricks to help us sleep better and avoid jet lag.
My husband. At ten o’clock in the morning. Feeling as though he could have another eight hours of sleep (with the dog we were housesitting for!)
Jet Lag. How to Prevent it. 12 Easy Tips
Before we start with the tips, I want you to be prepared for your flight.
Please. Before you set off, make sure you are comfy when you fly. Comfort will conquer all when it comes to sleeping and getting as much as rest as possible.
Unless you are brave enough to fly in your PJ’s (I swear, one day I will pluck up the courage and do this), then do the next best and wear some comfy travel plants for long flights.
Take any heavy jewellery off.
Don’t wear tight, lace-up shoes.
Right. Now that you are properly dressed, let’s get to those jet-lag tips.
1: Try and work out before your flight.
I’m not saying to hit the gym for hours on end (although if you can, that would be great). Working out can be as simple as walking in the fresh air or doing gentle stretching exercises (preferably outdoors).
Even the smallest things will help your body feel physically tired before you board the flight.
2: Adjust your watch to local time as soon as you board the plane.
And STOP comparing time to your last destination!! Don’t worry, we all do it..
“Ohh… think…if we were at home right now, we’d just be going to work…”.
As fun as it is, it helps no one.
Adjust the time and trick your brain into thinking you’re a time traveller.
3: If it is nighttime where you are travelling, then do your best to get some shut-eye on the plane.
If your flight is in the middle of the day, invest in a good eye mask. These are my tried and tested travel essentials for the plane. I would NOT travel without an eye mask.
Also, don’t forget to pack your headphones, and I recommend you download a sleep meditation app. You’ll be asleep before the drinks trolley is wheeled out.
4: Talking of the drinks trolly…
As hard as it may be, avoid alcohol and heavy meals on the flight. Especially anything with lots of carbs. If you can’t resist the food tray (and I hear you, let’s face it, eating passes another hour), then go for the lighter option. My choice is always:
Fruit, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate, popcorn and oatcakes.
The less your body has to deal with when it reaches the destination, the better chance it has of beating jet lag.
5: Avoid games and movies that will set your heart racing.
Unless you are the same age as my thirteen-year-old daughter, who tells me this stuff relaxes her.
Hmm. I don’t think so.
My daughter, trying her hardest to stay awake until bedtime
6: Can’t sleep? Don’t stress it.
The biggest lesson I learned whenever I flew was not to stress when I couldn’t sleep.
Stressing about the fact that you are wide awake and are probably going to suffer from jetlag will make you feel agitated and tense.
Just relax and close your eyes.
Resting your body and mind is enough.
Jet Lag. How to Avoid it
7: When you arrive at your destination, keep to local time. See tip two and stick to it!!
After a long flight to Japan, trying our hardest not to fall asleep in the day…
8: Do not, under any circumstance, take a nap in the middle of the day. Not unless you want to be awake at 3 am the next morning.
Stay awake until at least 7 pm; after that, you can go to bed.
Want to know a SECRET tip to stay awake & avoid Jet Lag?
The best way to stay awake during the day is to sit outside in the fresh air and READ A BOOK.
But here is the secret…
It can’t be just any old book. It has to be a book that is going to make you LAUGH.
Why?
Because laughter lowers blood pressure and helps oxygen flow freely throughout the bloodstream.
The more you laugh, the more oxygen your blood absorbs and the more oxygen you have, you become more alert and less drowsy.
That’s why people recommend you read a funny book whenever you’re tired since more oxygen helps you stay awake.
The book that I am HIGHLY RECOMMEND is MY BOOK! The Travel Bog Diaries!
Click here and read all about how an ordinary woman did something (extremely) extraordinary.
The Travel Bog Diaries. One Woman’s hilarious confessions of Surviving Family World Travel!
Jet Lag. How to Get Over It.
10: Before retiring to bed, ensure the room is dark and cool. If possible, use a meditation sleep app meditation.
I swear, the older I get, the more I need my sleep meditation app.
I love them.
I’m not sure how that stuff works, but there is something deeply relaxing about listening to a soft voice before falling asleep.
Would you love to travel more often but could use some tips on how to do it for a lot less? Then join me & I’ll show you how!
11: If you do wake up at the famous 3 am time with jetlag, do not get up.
Try not to open your eyes. Lay still and do not stress about sleeping.
If you get up and walk around looking for a glass of water, then you will find that this pattern continues for a few nights.
Do not get out of bed!
Jet Lag. How to outwit it.
12: This tip on how to beat jet lag is a new one to me and was brought to my attention by my brother-in-law, who flew to New Zealand from Florida.
He swears it helps him avoid getting jet lag:
Do not drink ANY caffeine 48 hours before (or during) your flight.
Once you get to your destination, resume your normal caffeine intake (assuming that you don’t arrive in the middle of the night, that is).
He swears by this tip, so I wanted to pass it on.
Listen to our Travel Podcast Episode, All About Avoiding Jet lag!
If you enjoyed this post, you will LOVE the podcast that I made with my eighteen-year-old son about this topic.
In it, Sonny and I talk about jet lag and a few proven ways in which you can avoid it.
And no. My suggestion wasn’t to get as drunk as possible on the plane, thank you very much. I am far too sophisticated and grown-up for that.
In this “It’s a Drama” podcast episode, Sonny and I talk about ways to avoid jet lag, including:
- My son’s worst destination for jet lag (no surprises here…)
- What to do when you can’t get to sleep on an aeroplane
- My son shares his favourite tip on the best possible way (but not often advised) how to beat jet lag
A very tired family sitting down for breakfast at ‘Oscar Villa’ in Sri Lanka
Listen to the Travel Family Podcast Episode Here!
And one more thing before you go…If you DO manage to accidentally ignore the above jet lag tips and find yourself with the dreaded jet lag, know this:
How Long Does Jet Lag Last?
Fear not, my intrepid adventurer, it happens to the best of us and jet lag’s duration can vary depending on factors like the number of time zones crossed and your resilience.
On average, the effects of jet lag can last anywhere from a few days to a week.
But consider it a small price to pay for all the incredible sights, sounds, and tastes you’ve experienced on your globetrotting escapades.
So grab some dark chocolate (yum!), adjust those sleep patterns, and soon enough, you’ll return to your perky, jet-setting self, ready to conquer the world again!
Bon voyage!
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The pros and cons of living in New Zealand. PODCAST
Would you love to travel more often but could use some tips on how to do it for a lot less? Then join me & I’ll show you how!
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