How to beat jet lag: what to do before, during and after a long-haul flight

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Jet lag happens when your body clock is still running on home time while the clock on the wall says something else. You feel tired at the wrong times, wide awake at 3am, foggy during the day and sometimes off your food. It usually improves within a few days, but a little planning can make those days much easier.

Why direction matters

Your body clock adjusts more easily when the day gets longer than when it gets shorter. That is why many people find flying east, where you lose hours and have to go to sleep earlier than your body wants, harder than flying west. The more time zones you cross, the longer it tends to take to settle. For a short trip of two or three days, it can make sense not to adjust at all: keep eating and sleeping roughly on home time as far as your plans allow, and you will have nothing to undo when you get back.

Before you go

Shift your sleep a little: for a few days before departure, go to bed and get up earlier than usual if you are flying east, or later if you are flying west. Even an hour or two helps.
Arrive rested: starting a long flight already short of sleep makes everything worse. Pack the day before, not at 2am.
Choose flight times if you can: an arrival in the late afternoon or early evening lets you stay up a few hours and then sleep at a normal local bedtime.

On the plane

Set your watch and phone to destination time as soon as you board and start thinking in that time.
If it is night at your destination, try to sleep: eye mask, earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones, and a neck pillow help. If it is daytime there, try to stay awake.
Drink plenty of water. Cabin air is dry, and dehydration adds to the headache and tiredness.
Go easy on alcohol and caffeine; both disturb sleep and can make jet lag worse.
Get up, walk the aisle and stretch now and then.

Light: the strongest signal you have

Daylight is what resets the body clock most powerfully, so use it deliberately.

After flying east: get outside in morning daylight and be more careful about bright light late in the evening.
After flying west: get daylight in the late afternoon and early evening to help you stay up later.
On the first day, a walk outdoors does more than anything you can buy. Keep your room dark at night and avoid bright screens just before bed.

After you arrive

Switch to local mealtimes and local bedtime straight away.
Naps: the official advice is to avoid daytime sleep. If you truly cannot stay awake, keep it short, ideally well under an hour and not in the late afternoon, and set an alarm so it does not turn into a four-hour sleep that wrecks the night.
Caffeine: a coffee in the morning can help you through the first day; stop by early afternoon so it does not keep you up.
Set an alarm for a normal local wake-up time even if you slept badly. Lying in feels kind but delays the adjustment.
Gentle exercise outdoors in daylight helps both alertness and sleep that night.

What about melatonin?

Melatonin is the hormone your body releases in the evening to signal that it is time to sleep, and melatonin tablets are often suggested for jet lag. The evidence is mixed. The NHS, for example, does not recommend melatonin for jet lag because there is not enough evidence that it works, and in the UK it is a prescription-only medicine. In some other countries it is sold over the counter. Rules, doses and products vary, and it can interact with other medicines, so speak to a doctor or pharmacist before using it, especially if you take other medication, are pregnant or have a health condition. The same goes for sleeping tablets, which can be habit-forming and are meant only for short-term use.

A simple plan for a long eastbound trip

Three days before: go to bed and get up an hour earlier each day.
On board: switch to destination time, sleep if it is night there, drink water, skip the wine.
Day one: morning daylight, local meals, no long nap, coffee before lunch only.
Nights one to three: local bedtime, dark room, alarm at a normal hour.

What works for you on long-haul flights? Share your jet lag tricks or ask about a specific route in the comments.