How to Combat Jet Lag (No Matter What the Time Difference)

In the past few years, I’ve traveled to destinations with some pretty significant time differences. From a mere difference of three hours in Las Vegas, to a difference of 5 hours in London and my most significant difference yet, of 18 hours in New Zealand. Through each of these experiences, I’ve developed a system for preventing and combating jet lag. Here are my top five tips:

1. Drink lots of water – Though it may seem like such a simple task, it makes all of the difference. While you’re on the plane, make sure to constantly sip on water and avoid alcoholic beverages if possible. The more dehydrated you are, the worse you’ll feel once you step off that plane.
2. Schedule flights strategically – If I’m traveling to Europe, I try to schedule an overnight flight because this allows me to rest, relax and sleep on the plane (more on that below), and since I arrive in the morning, forces me to stay awake and enjoy the day once I arrive at my destination.
3. Sleep on the plane – Now, I am no expert at sleeping on planes. To be honest, I’m rarely able to actually do it myself, but I at least make an attempt to relax and nap a few times so that my body gets some rest. To make things easier and program my body for bed time, I always dress comfortably on long overnight flights and make sure to (somewhat) do my usual beauty routine; taking off all of my makeup, putting on a face mask and loading up on the face lotion. I also never travel without my sleep mask, travel pillow and headphones so that I can at least try to tune out the plane and the rest of the passengers.
4. Get some fresh air – After being on a plane for X amount of hours, your body needs some fresh air! Though it can be tempting to settle into your hotel once you arrive, it’s so important to get outside for some fresh air and if you’re lucky, some sunshine! It will help awaken your body and start programming your internal alarm clock to fit the time zone.
5. Go for a walk – On that same note, walking around will start to get the blood flowing again. After sitting on a cramped plane for a long time, your body needs to wake up, and there’s no better way to do this than by getting your muscles moving. Trust me, once you do this you’ll start to feel your body come alive again.

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