Tips to overcome jet lag

Jet lag isn't just feeling tired. It's a fundamental mismatch between your internal body clock and the local time zone — and that mismatch affects everything from sleep and digestion to mood and cognitive performance. The good news: with the right approach, you can shorten recovery from a week to a couple of days. Here are the strategies that actually work, in order of effectiveness.

1. What jet lag actually is
2. Direction matters
3. Before you fly
4. During the flight
5. When you arrive
6. Speeding up recovery

What jet lag actually is

Your body runs on a 24-hour internal clock — your circadian rhythm — which is calibrated by light, meals, and consistent timing. When you cross multiple time zones quickly, your internal clock is still on the old time while the world around you is on the new time. This mismatch causes symptoms: poor sleep, fatigue, digestive upset, headaches, low mood, and reduced concentration.

Roughly: your body adjusts at a rate of about one time zone per day. So a 6-hour shift takes about 6 days to fully recover from — unless you actively help your body along.

Direction matters

Flying east is harder. You're forced to fall asleep earlier than your body wants — which is biologically more difficult than staying up later. Most people find the recovery from eastward travel takes longer than the same number of time zones westward.

Flying west is easier. You stay up later than your old time zone, which feels more natural. Lying in bed past your normal bedtime is easier than forcing sleep when you're not tired.

Before you fly

• Shift your sleep schedule by 30–60 minutes per day for 2–3 days before the trip, in the direction of your destination time
• Be well-rested before you leave — exhaustion makes jet lag much worse
• Plan a calm first day at your destination — no big meetings or events

During the flight

• Set your watch to destination time as soon as you board
• Sleep when it's night at your destination, even if it's daytime where you took off
• Stay hydrated — cabin air is extremely dry and dehydration worsens jet lag
• Skip alcohol — it disrupts sleep and dehydrates you
• Eat aligned with destination meal times if possible — meal timing helps reset your body clock

When you arrive

The most powerful tool you have is light exposure. Get bright light at the right times for your destination:

• Eastward travel: seek morning light, avoid evening light
• Westward travel: seek afternoon and evening light, avoid morning light

Stay awake until at least 9pm local time, even if you're tired. Going to bed too early in the new time zone keeps your body clock stuck.

Speeding up recovery

• Get outside for 20+ minutes on your first day — daylight beats any indoor lighting
• Eat at local meal times from day one
• Caffeine in the morning, not afternoon — to reinforce daytime alertness
• Optimise your sleep environment — cool, dark, quiet. Breathable bedding helps because hotel bedding can be unpredictable on temperature
• Short naps OK, long naps no — 20–30 minutes max, not after 3pm

For getting back into rhythm after holidays generally, see restoring your sleep routine after a holiday.