Almost every single part of international travel is magical. You get to explore new places, try new foods, learn from people of different cultures, and make memories that will last a lifetime. But please note we said “almost” because there is one part of international travel we could all really do without: jet lag.
However, according to new research from Go2Africa, there are ways you can avoid waking up in the middle of the night or feeling exhausted in the middle of the day in your new location. And it all comes down to picking the right time to fly.
In November, the safari experts shared their tips for beating jet lag with Travel + Leisure via email, first defining this dreaded experience as when your “internal body clock, often referred to as the circadian rhythm, becomes out of whack with the local time of your destination.” And “out of whack” really is scientific in this example.
“Your circadian rhythm plays an instrumental role in regulating almost every biological process, including sleep, hormone release, cognitive function, and body temperature. When you rapidly change time zones, your body continues to operate in the time zone it considers home,” the company added. This wild misalignment with what your brain thinks is real vs. reality can spark everything from brain fog to digestive issues.
So, to avoid this, it offered three key tips, starting with when to book your flight.
“Scheduling your flight so you land at a time between 14:00 and 17:00 puts your body in the ideal environment for exposure to daylight and the ability to stay awake until bedtime. This paves the way to a synchronized internal clock,” they shared. But why, exactly, does this work? Well, according to Go2Africa, this 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. landing time allows your circadian rhythm to take in external cues, such as light and dark, to realign. “Light is the strongest signal to the body that it needs to reset,” it added. “Strategic exposure, or of course, avoidance, changes your circadian phase, supercharging the reset of your internal body clock.”
The team also explained that eastward travel typically causes more pronounced jet lag symptoms than westward travel because advancing your body clock (aka going to bed earlier) is harder than delaying it. That’s why you need to prepare in advance.
“If you are heading east, for example, from the UK to Africa, gradually adjust your sleep schedule three days in advance of traveling. Do this by going to bed 30 to 60 minutes earlier each night.” And if you’re flying west, start three days before your trip, but this time, try going to bed an hour later than normal.
If you’ve done all this, all that’s left to do is drink plenty of water before, during, and after your flight, walk the plane aisle every hour or two, and adjust your in-flight sleep to match your destination. This way, you’ve given yourself every advantage so you can hit the ground running in your vacation destination. Need more advice? Check out more tips on how experts beat jet lag here.
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