Jet lag is a problem many travellers face after a long-haul flight. A large portion of the population can be knocked down by lethargy or be wide awake at 3am – both varied but common symptoms of the notorious jet lag phenomenon.
Now, an industry insider has weighed in on how to minimise the pitfalls of jet lag with several tips on how to beat it. Icelandair‘s Health Manager Jóna Björg Jónsdóttir has revealed her five top tried-and-tested tricks for beating jet lag to ensure that it does not adversely affect your holiday plans – these could be a life-saver!
The travel expert warns that spending long hours staring at screens in a dimly lit cabin can disrupt the body’s natural sleeping cycle. Artificial light exposure, including those from phones, tablets and in-flight entertainment screens, confuses your circadian rhythms, making it harder for your body to adjust to a new time zone.
She suggests wearing blue light-blocking glasses when on devices and switching screens on to night mode. These methods can help reduce exposure and solve the problem. An eye mask is an added aid that can tell the body that it’s time to sleep and block out lighting and surrounding distractions. Winding down when the aircraft’s interior lights are dimmed can also help you adjust to a new time zone.
It might sound strange to eat the cuisine of the place you are flying to but Jóna said it is a great idea because your body’s internal clock is influenced not just by light but also by when you eat. She suggests to speed up adjustment to your new surroundings, eat meals according to your destination’s time zone as early as possible – even before departure. This trick is designed to create a powerful shift in your body’s metabolism and reduces that groggy, out-of-sync feeling after a long flight.
This tip is important for a number of reasons including deep vein thrombosis, but it also helps assist with the problem of jet lag. Try and move around the cabin at least once an hour, including walking up and down the aisle – just be careful not to get in the way of others. Long flights can leave people feeling lethargic so stretching in your seat can also help alleviate jet lag.
Another piece of advice from the travel expert is to monitor your body clock. She advises that one of the quickest ways to shake off jet lag is exposure to natural daylight which helps the body recharge. Upon landing, try to spend at least 20 to 30 minutes outdoors, even if you’re feeling absolutely exhausted.
If you arrive in the morning, sunlight will help you wake up and reset your body clock but if you land at night avoid bright lights and try to get some quality sleep.
The health manager’s best tip has been saved for last. She recommends drinking at least one litre of water for every five hours of flight time because plane cabin air is notoriously dry. This can leave you feeling sluggish and dehydrated – two major contributors to jet lag.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine which will further dehydrate you and disrupt your sleep patterns. This will make it harder to readjust when you land. A better option is to opt for herbal teas or electrolyte-rich drinks to keep your energy levels steady and recover faster.
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