Jet Lag: Symptoms, Remedies and How Best to Avoid

Travel Tips

Understand jet lag causes and symptoms. Here we cover effective tips to prevent and manage time zone fatigue for a smoother travel experience.

International travel offers vacationers a variety of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but it can come with a few notable challenges. For example, long flights can leave you feeling jet lagged and groggy, which can make the first few days of your vacation less enjoyable. To help start your vacation off on the right foot, we’ve gathered these helpful tips and information for combating jet lag.

What is jet lag?

If you’re planning a trip across time zones, you’ve probably been warned about jet lag. Jet lag is a temporary sleep problem that can occur to travelers who fly over multiple time zones, disrupting their sleep cycle. Jet lag can cause extreme tiredness, headaches and other physical symptoms that can put a damper on the first few days of your trip.

What causes jet lag?

Most commonly, jet lag is caused by flying over multiple time zones, particularly when traveling in an eastward direction since you’re losing daylight hours, which help to regulate your body. Jet lag can also be caused by extended periods of sitting, changes in air pressure, dehydration and the humidity on your flight. Some travelers may be more sensitive to jet lag than others so do your best to get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and stretch your legs during your flight.

What are the main symptoms of jet lag?

Jet lag is a self-diagnosable condition that usually lasts a few days before going away on its own. Symptoms of jet lag can vary in severity but in general are self-treatable. Some travelers experience many symptoms, while others might only experience one or two. You’ll likely know if you start experiencing jet lag, but here are symptoms to watch for if you’re unsure:

Fatigue

One of the most common symptoms of jet lag is the extreme feeling of tiredness.

Nausea

You may begin to feel nauseous because of travel-related stress, motion sickness from the flight, big changes in mealtimes or because of feeing fatigued.

Headaches

Jet lag can cause headaches because of the change in cabin pressure, too much caffeine or alcohol and a lack of quality sleep.

Insomnia

Insomnia can happen because your sleep routine is disrupted, you have uncomfortable sleeping conditions like your airplane seat, travel anxiety or melatonin imbalances caused by exposure to light at unusual hours.

Lack of focus

A lack of focus can be triggered by not getting enough sleep, physical or mental stress, dehydration and not eating the right nutrition.

Mood changes

Mood changes usually go hand-in-hand with other listed symptoms as your body is expressing discomfort from long travel, stress, routine changes and a lack of sleep.

It's important to remember that these symptoms vary from traveler to traveler and depend on different factors such as the number of time zones crossed, direction of travel and individual differences in sleeping patterns.

How long does jet lag typically last?

The recovery time for jet lag can vary depending on both the severity and distance traveled. Typically, jet lag will clear within a few days, or a day per time zone traveled. For example, if you traveled over three time zones, you’ll likely need three days of recovery time.

5 ways to avoid jet lag

Even though it’s common to experience jet lag, it can be rather frustrating to have to deal with it. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help lower your chances of getting jet lag.

1. Adjust your sleeping schedule in advance

Travelling across multiple time zones in a single flight can seriously disrupt your internal clock, which is why many vacationers experience daytime fatigue and difficulty sleeping when they first arrive. The best way to combat jet lag is to pre-adjust your daily routine to match your intended destination, as this can help sync your body's circadian rhythm with an unfamiliar time zone.

2. Increase exposure to natural light

Light exposure plays a crucial role in the regulation of your sleep schedule and is directly associated to the release of melatonin, a hormone that manages the body's sleep-wake cycle. Soaking up a lot of morning sunlight can help you adjust to an earlier time zone if you're heading east, while evening light can prepare you for your westward travels.

3. Drink plenty of water before and during your flight

Flying at high altitudes for a prolonged period can cause dehydration, in part due to the dry air in the cabin. Being dehydrated can worsen the symptoms of jet lag, leading to dizziness and nausea.

4. Avoid alcohol and caffeine

While you may be tempted to order a hot coffee or a cocktail during your flight, these beverage choices can make it even harder to adapt your sleep schedule to a new time zone. They can also lead to dehydration if you aren't drinking enough water, which may further amplify your jet lag.

5. Schedule your arrival for late afternoon or early evening

Depending on your destination, it can be helpful to schedule a flight with a late-afternoon arrival to keep yourself from taking a midday nap when you land.

7 tips and remedies for jet lag relief

Even with all the preparation, jet lag is still a common occurrence for travelers. As mentioned, jet lag is self-treatable in most cases and typically passes after a few days. You can help reduce the severity of your symptoms by trying these jet lag remedies.

1. Don’t Drink After Landing

Drinking can be a big part of travel for a lot of vacationers. But as tempting as it can be to indulge in local beer, wine and cocktails, you should opt for water or a mocktail until you adjust to your new time zone.

2. Watch the Sunrise

Getting to watch a sunset is a beautiful experience, but it can also help your internal clock adjust to your destination. Both sunrises and sunsets can subconsciously help your body recognize when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to go to bed.

3. Avoid Large Meals

Since nausea from jet lag is a common symptom, it’s best to avoid eating large meals and trying new foods until your stomach starts to feel better.

4. Sleep Well

Getting quality sleep is important to fight and relieve your feelings of jet lag. Make your sleep space as comfortable as possible – be sure you’re in a comfortable sleeping position, use blackout curtains or an eye mask and listen to mediations or white noise to help you relax. If you need additional help falling asleep, you can try melatonin which helps with regulating your internal sleep-wake cycle.

5. Move Your Meals

New research shows that food can influence your body’s internal regulation just like sunlight.¹ When you land at your destination (or even before) make sure you’re eating at mealtimes according to your destination. That means if you land bright and early, grab yourself some breakfast even if you feel like it’s dinnertime.

6. Exercise

Whether you hit the hotel gym or go for a brisk walk, a light workout during the daytime can help your body wake up and feel alert.

7. Carefully Caffeinate

Avoiding caffeine is crucial before and during your flight so you can stay hydrated, but if you do end up catching a case of jet lag, having a caffeinated drink like tea, coffee or even soda can help you focus for the day. Just be sure you don’t go overboard and dehydrate your body!

5 great apps for jet lag

These days it seems like there’s an app for everything, and in this case, jet lag is no different. In fact, there are several popular websites and apps that use different scientific techniques to help you avoid or manage jet lag. Below are five options to help get you prepared for the next time you change time zones:

1. Timeshifter

Timeshifter is one of the most popular apps to help with jet lag since it uses science to find the best way to realign your sleep schedule by taking your normal routine and your travel information into account.

2. Uplift

Uplift eases symptoms from jet lag by using soundwaves to stimulate the nerves in your brain to help you get deep, restful sleep.

3. Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle helps users find the best time to wake up during their sleep cycle to feel well-rested and ready for the day.

4. Jet Lag Rooster

Jet Lag Rooster is a free website where users can input their travel information to create a sleep schedule to prevent jet lag.

5. Better Sleep

Better Sleep offers users a variety of sounds, mediations and breathing exercises to help relax you into a deep rest.

Now that you’re equipped with helpful tools and information, you’ll be more ready to manage jet lag before it appears and minimize the symptoms you experience. While fatigue can contribute to forgetfulness during your trip, you don’t want to forget to pack a travel insurance plan before you depart. When you’re ready for your next trip, whether it’s for business or pleasure, let Travel Guard help you make plans along the way.

Hear from others like you:

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- Candy and Doug A.

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Source :
1. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/research-suggests-jet-lag-can-be-managed-with-food-schedules

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