Prevent and reduce jet lag: before, during and after the flight

Jet lag can seriously spoil the first days of a long-haul trip. You're tired at the wrong moment, wide awake in the middle of the night and your head feels fuzzy. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do about it. With the right preparation you adjust faster to the new time zone.

Preventing jet lag starts before the flight

Your body runs on an internal clock that's hard to reset all at once. The bigger the time difference, the heavier the jet lag. If you travel east, adjusting is usually harder than travelling west.

So start a few days ahead with small steps. Go to bed an hour earlier or later each day, depending on your direction of travel. Make sure you leave well rested, because with a sleep deficit you start with a disadvantage.

• Shift your sleep times a few days ahead towards the new time zone.
• Leave rested rather than exhausted from packing.
• Set your watch to your destination's time when you depart.

During the flight

On the plane it's mainly about rest and water. The air on board is dry, and dehydration makes tiredness worse. So drink water regularly and go easy on coffee and alcohol, which disturb your sleep.

Live by your destination's time already on board. If it's night there, try to sleep with a sleep mask and earplugs. If it's day there, stay awake and move down the aisle now and then.

After the flight

Once you've arrived, daylight is your best friend. Light steers your internal clock, so go outside and move. If you arrive in the morning, stay up as much as possible and only go to sleep at a normal local bedtime.

• Seek daylight at the times it's day at your destination.
• Take at most a short nap of twenty minutes if there's really no other way.
• Eat at the local meal times, that helps reset your clock too.
• Move and walk, sitting still actually makes the grogginess worse.

Give yourself time

As a rule of thumb, your body needs about one day per hour of time difference. So plan the first days calmly and don't expect top performance right away. Listen to your body and don't force anything.

Your flight times, arrival moment and the first quiet days of your programme you keep clearly with a travel planner like Zuvy, so you start your trip well rested.