How to Beat Jet Lag: A Practical Plan Before, During and After Your Flight

Why jet lag happens

Your body runs on an internal circadian clock, set mainly by daylight, which controls when you feel sleepy, hungry and alert. When you fly across several time zones, that clock is still on home time, while the world around you is not.

The result: tiredness during the day, waking at 3am, poor concentration, headaches, digestive problems and low mood. It usually becomes noticeable after crossing three or more time zones.

Left alone, the body clock adjusts by roughly an hour a day, often a little faster heading west. The steps below help it shift faster.

Why flying east is harder

Most people's natural body clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours, so it is easier to delay sleep (as when flying west and staying up later) than to advance it (as when flying east and going to bed earlier). That is why a flight from Europe to Asia, or the US to Europe, usually feels worse than the return.

The most powerful tool: light

Daylight is the main signal that resets your body clock. When you see it matters:

• Flying east (you need to sleep and wake earlier): get bright morning light at your destination, and avoid bright light in the late evening.
• Flying west (you need to stay up later): get light in the late afternoon and evening, and avoid very early morning light.

After very long eastward flights (eight or more time zones), early-morning light can actually push your clock the wrong way. In that case, avoid light for the first few hours of the morning on the first day or two, then seek it from late morning. Free jet lag calculator apps can work out a schedule for your specific trip.

Before you fly

1. Shift your sleep gradually for two or three days: go to bed and get up an hour earlier each day if flying east, or an hour later if flying west.
2. Arrive rested. Starting a long flight already sleep-deprived makes jet lag worse.
3. Plan your arrival day. Avoid scheduling important meetings or activities for the first day if you can.
4. Choose flights that land in the late afternoon or evening where possible, so you can go to bed soon after arriving.

Our guide to planning across time zones helps with scheduling calls and meetings around a trip.

On the plane

• Set your watch and phone to destination time when you board, and eat and sleep according to it as far as possible.
• Sleep if it is night at your destination. An eye mask, earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones, and a neck pillow help.
• Stay awake if it is daytime there, with light, films and walking the aisle.
• Drink water regularly. Cabin air is dry, and dehydration makes fatigue worse.
• Limit alcohol, which disrupts sleep quality and adds to dehydration.
• Move around and stretch, which also reduces the risk of blood clots on long flights.

After you land

• Switch to local time immediately: eat meals at local times, and go to bed at a normal local bedtime.
• Get outside in daylight at the right time (see above).
• If you must nap, keep it short: 20 to 30 minutes before mid-afternoon. Long naps make the first night harder.
• Exercise lightly outdoors, which combines activity and light.
• Use caffeine strategically in the morning and early afternoon to stay alert, but avoid it within about six hours of bedtime.
• Keep your bedroom dark and cool. Our sleep guide has more tips.

Melatonin

Melatonin is the hormone your body produces in the evening to signal night. Taken as a supplement:

• Research suggests it can reduce jet lag symptoms, particularly after eastward flights across five or more time zones.
• It is usually taken close to bedtime at the destination for a few nights after arrival.
• Low doses (around 0.5 to 5 mg) are commonly used; more is not necessarily better.
• It is sold over the counter in some countries, such as the US, but needs a prescription in others, including the UK and much of the EU. Supplement quality varies.

Speak to a doctor first if you take other medicines (especially blood thinners or epilepsy drugs), are pregnant, or have a medical condition.

Sleeping tablets

Short-acting prescription sleeping tablets can help some people sleep on arrival, but they can cause grogginess, and sleeping deeply in a cramped seat may raise the risk of blood clots. Use them only with medical advice.

Short trips

For trips of two or three days, it can be easier to stay on home time as much as possible, and schedule important things for the hours you would normally be alert.

Key takeaways

• Jet lag lasts roughly a day per time zone without intervention; east is harder than west.
• Timed daylight is the most effective way to reset your body clock.
• Switch to destination time on the plane, and eat and sleep on local time when you arrive.
• Keep naps short, use caffeine early, and consider melatonin with medical advice.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor before taking supplements or medicines for sleep.