Traveling to new places is exciting, adjusting to new time zones not so much. We’ve reached out to several travel experts to find out their best strategies to minimize jet lag and adjust quickly to the local time.
Avoid caffeine and happy hour
This sounds depressing but trust us! Caffeine stays in your system for several hours and you don’t want it lingering in your system before a flight. The same goes for sugary drinks and alcohol, they are going to dehydrate you, making you feel worse. Instead, keep yourself hydrated all day with water. Or check out the drink below!
Try this recovery drink
1Above is a travel recovery drink with electrolytes and vitamins to help fight travel fatigue naturally by hydrating you, boosting your immune system, and improving your blood circulation. Thank you, Cristina from Chasing Travel for putting this on our radar!
Go for a swim
Any form of exercise after sitting cramped on an airplane is good. Rain, from Rain’s Travels, recommends swimming. It helps your muscles loosen up and relax. Maybe try this when you’re trying to unwind before bed.
Try Melatonin
Several of our expert travelers recommend melatonin to help you sleep. Laura Berg, TravelFul Life, advises starting off at a low dosage and then increasing it if you don’t find it effective. She’s made the mistake of trying a 5mg pill the first time and it left her feeling very groggy. Cut a pill in half first to see how it affects you.
Schedule your flight to arrive during the day
Not only will you make the most of your time there, sunlight helps your body adjust to your new location, and the fresh air can help get you moving. Landing at night makes it much harder to adjust.
Book a seat on a Boeing Dreamliner
If you’re like Barry Choi and you don’t sleep well on planes, he recommends trying to book a seat on a Boeing Dreamliner. The airplane features LED lighting that changes to simulate a full flying day to help your body adjust to your destination time zone. The aircraft also has lower cabin pressure—equivalent to about 2000 ft lower than other aircrafts—think better oxygen absorption, translating into fewer headaches, and less dizziness and fatigue. All this combined with the increased humidity in the cabin and quieter engines makes it a no brainer for a comfortable flight. We can’t wait to book a seat on this plane. See which airline fleets they are a part of.
Set your clocks to the new time zone
If you’re not on the Dreamliner, then you need to find another way to psychologically adjust yourself. Dave, The Planet D, recommends adjusting your phone clock, watch, tablet, etc during your flight.
Go ahead and have that nap
Just make sure you set an alarm. You know your body best, if you can handle an hour nap and wake up energized, go for it! Debra, The Planet D, swears by a quick 1-hour nap as soon as she checks in. It gives her the perfect recharge she needs to tackle a new destination.
Wear these eye masks
If you’re not worried about how you look, these wearables claim to fight the effects of jet lag. Neuroon and LumosTech both offer smart sleep masks that use light therapy to readjust your sleep pattern and circadian rhythm. The masks pair with an app where you input your travel details and it creates a custom light therapy for you. The LumosTech is available for pre-order for $175 USD and the Neuroon is available to purchase for $299 USD. If you pick one up, let us know how it works!
Combine the tips above and you should have no problem landing in a new place feeling ready to go. Do you have any other tips you swear by? Share it with us in the comments!