how to sleep after jet lag
the sleep summary
Jet lag is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder which we get when travelling long haul, particularly over two or more time zones. It throws your body out of sync and leaves you feeling tired, making you struggle to sleep, along with other symptoms. Symptoms of jet lag include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, nausea, changes in appetite, dizziness and others.
Travelling east will give you worse jet lag as opposed to travelling west as it reduces hours in your day, giving you less recovery time.
You can’t avoid jet lag entirely but there are a few things you can do to help reduce it, including preparing for your destination time zone in advance, limiting caffeine and alcohol intake during your flight, spending time outdoors and exposing yourself to day light, and consuming food such as oats, wholegrain bread, chicken, eggs, fruit and almonds.
how to sleep after jet lag
We all love a summer holiday, but for those embarking on a long-haul journey, comes the misery of jet lag. Jet lag is something we dread when flying further afield - it cuts into your holiday time, demotivates you and makes you feel sluggish. Not to mention, it can impact your sleep schedule massively. Read on to find out what exactly is jet lag and what the symptoms are, plus we share some top tips that will help soften the impact of travelling through multiple time zones, so you can quickly get back to your functioning self.
what is jet lag?
Jet lag is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder and occurs when you travel across two or more time zones within a relatively short period of time, throwing your body clock out of sync with the daytime-nighttime schedule of your destination. Travelling against your internal body clock leads to a disruption in your sleep pattern, causing fatigue, affecting concentration and leading to you feeling unwell in general.
does jet lag make it hard to sleep?
Yes, jet lag does make it difficult to sleep which is one of the reasons we all dread it. Because your body’s internal clock is still used to your departure location, it can take a while to synchronise to your new location. Let’s go into that a little more…
how time zone changes affect circadian rhythm and sleep
In normal circumstances, your circadian rhythm aligns with daylight, which promotes alertness during the day and sleep when it comes to nighttime. Your internal body clock synchronises with the 24-hour day, aiding quality sleep and helping to ensure good physical and mental health too. So, when you travel to a new location with different sunrise and sunset times than what you’re used to, it leads to a disruption in your circadian rhythm, and in turn, your sleep.
Aspects of air travel can also make you feel unwell, including sitting on a plane for long periods of time, lack of oxygen and decreased air pressure in the cabin, as well as warm cabin temperatures and low humidity, which can lead to dehydration - while not causing jet lag, it can enhance your tiredness. Jet lag is also worse when travelling from west to east, but we’ll touch more on that later.
The body can adjust naturally to 1-1.5 changes in time zones each day, and so the more time zones you travel through within a short space of time, the more severe the jet lag symptoms you’ll experience.
why west is best and east is a beast
For jet lag to occur, travel must happen in an east-west or west-east direction. However, when you travel in an easterly direction, jet lag symptoms can feel more intense because your body has less time to recover. Travelling west adds hours to a day, giving you more recovery time, whilst travelling east reduces the hours in a day so you have less time to catch up with sleep, intensifying symptoms and delaying recovery. Your body will find it easier if you’re forcing it to stay awake but will struggle if you’re forcing yourself to go to sleep too early.
jet lag symptoms
So, what does jet lag feel like? Jet lag is one of the most difficult side effects of long-haul travel, causing a whole array of symptoms that can take a few days to ease after arriving at your destination. Symptoms of jet lag include:
Difficulty sleeping
Issues with waking in the morning
A feeling of fatigue
Feeling drowsy during the day time
Poor sleep quality
Trouble concentrating
Reduced mental and physical performance
Gastrointestinal changes
Nausea
Dizziness
Changes in appetite
Mild anxiety
impact of jet lag on sleep patterns
Jet lag can disrupt your sleep patterns because your body’s internal clock hasn’t synced up with the local time of where you’ve travelled to. You may find it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake up at the right times, leading to overall poor quality of sleep. People tend to experience numerous wake ups during the night, early morning wake ups and sleepiness throughout the day.
jet lag recovery time for sleep adjustment
How long it takes to recover from jet lag all depends upon how many time zones you’ve travelled across, as well as your body’s unique rhythms and overall health. You should allow a day for each time zone crossed, so your body can adjust to the local time.
If you’ve lost several hours during travel, you’ll most likely have difficulty falling asleep as you adjust to a new nighttime schedule, but if you’ve gained several hours, you’ll feel sleepy during the daytime. A lot of people feel back to their usual self after a few days, but for others it can take around a week.
how to avoid jet lag
Although it’s hard to completely avoid jet lag, there are some ways that you can soften the impact to help you get back to your normal self. It’s pretty much all down to reconditioning your body to acclimate to your new time zone as quickly as possible, but without over-stressing it. The best way to sleep with jet lag is to help your body adjust to the local time as quickly as possible. If you can’t sleep from jet lag, we recommend trying to:
Prepare in advance - making an effort to lessen the impact of jet lag can start way before you board the plane. Try to adjust your schedule by moving your fall-asleep and wake-up times, in 15 minute increments each day, towards the time-zone of your destination.
Limit alcohol and caffeine intake before and during your flight - alcohol and caffeine worsen jet lag symptoms, negatively impacting sleep quality. Remember the half-life of alcohol in the body is 5 hours so consider the time zone you’re landing in and what time you’ll be going to sleep there. Avoid heavy meals too, as they can raise your core body temperature, making falling asleep on time more difficult if consumed too close to bedtime.
Adjust your sleep-wake schedule - try to get into a time and sleep routine that’s appropriate for the destination as soon as you can after arriving. This may mean sleeping on the plane if you’re taking a flight during your destination’s nighttime.
Keep moving - try to keep active during your journey by stretching and taking a walk up and down the plane. Exercising after travelling can also help you to feel more alert. You should also consider the time you’ll need to go to sleep in your new time zone and avoid exercise too close to bed time as exercise will raise your core body temperature making sleep more difficult to achieve. Learn more about exercise and sleep.
Take a power nap on arrival - but only if you really need to and make sure it’s for no longer than 20 minutes.
Spend time outdoors - getting outside during daylight hours improves alertness, and natural light helps your body to recognise that it’s time to be awake. You should seek bright light in the evening if you’ve travelled westward, but if you’ve gone east, seek bright light in the morning.
Reset your body clock - set your sleep and wake times to the local time zone. Avoiding sleeping too much during the day on arrival, and getting outside in the daylight all contribute to setting your internal clock to the local time and overcoming jet lag. Eating at local mealtimes also gives a strong signal to reset your circadian rhythm.
travel essentials
tips for sleeping on long flights to try avoid jet lag
As mentioned, you won’t be able to completely avoid jet lag when travelling long haul, but there may be a few things you can do to help reduce its impact when on the initial flight.
During your flight, try to sleep according to your destinations night-time.
Be tactical when choosing your seat on the flight. A window seat could help you avoid being disturbed from people getting by you, and staying away from high-traffic areas such as near the toilets can help reduce interruptions too.
Bring sleep aids on the flight with you such as a neck pillow, eye mask and earplugs. These can all help improve your comfort and block out light and noise, increasing your chance of sleep.
Manage light exposure when you can – shut your flight window shade if trying to sleep, but if trying to stay awake, make sure you keep it open and keep yourself exposed to the light.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Stay hydrated – cabin air is very dry, making it easier to become dehydrated and more difficult to sleep.
foods to avoid and consume for better sleep with jet lag
What you eat can affect how well you sleep and how quickly you recover from jet lag, because food influences digestion, energy levels, and even your circadian rhythm.
Avoid:
Caffeine - this can delay sleep and reduce sleep quality for several hours.
Alcohol – it may make you feel sleepy at first, but it fragments sleep and worsens dehydration and jet lag symptoms.
Heavy, fatty, or spicy meals late at night – these can cause indigestion and make it harder to fall asleep.
High-sugar snacks close to bedtime – they can cause energy spikes and crashes that disrupt sleep.
Large meals right before sleep – digestion keeps your body active when it should be winding down.
Consume:
Complex carbohydrates like oats, wholegrain bread and brown rice can support relaxation by helping tryptophan enter the brain.
Foods rich in tryptophan such as turkey, chicken, eggs, dairy, tofu, nuts and seeds may support melatonin production.
Magnesium-rich foods like bananas, almonds, spinach and avocado can help muscle relaxation and sleep quality.
Light, balanced evening snacks like yogurt with fruit or a small bowl of porridge can prevent hunger from waking you without overloading digestion.
Hydrating foods such as fruit will help counteract dehydration from travel.
Ultimately, disrupting your circadian rhythm is what leads to jet lag symptoms and preparation and setting your schedule to suit the time zone you’ve travelled to really will go a long way to help reset your body clock, so you can quickly get back to feeling like you again. If you found this blog helpful, check out our article on sleep and your diet.
H2: FAQs
why is jet lag worse coming home?
Jet lag can sometimes feel worse coming home because your body has just adjusted to a new time zone, and now it’s having to do it all over again. It can also be because sleep debt has built up over your time away, meaning you’ve got more to catch up on once you get home. Plus, returning home usually means returning back to work and daily responsibilities meaning you have less time to recover.
what is jet lag insomnia?
Jet lag insomnia is where you’re struggling to sleep during the night because you’ve travelled across multiple time zones and your body’s internal clock has been disrupted. It may take a few days for your body to adjust to the new time zone and feel back to normal.
