After traveling full-time since 2019 and visiting 90+ countries, we’ve battled jet lag more times than we can count.
In fact, one very busy year we flew round trip across the Atlantic 6 times. That’s a LOT of potential for jet lag!
Those first few days of brain fog, waking up at 3 a.m., and falling asleep at dinner can ruin the start of a trip.
But over time, we figured out what actually works to avoid jet lag. Not the random internet hacks that don’t help. Here’s what we do every time we cross multiple time zones.
Flight Times Matter
Airlines schedule almost all flights from the US to Europe as redeyes. And they often schedule them to depart as early as 5pm.
And flights back tend to depart midday and arrive in the US in the early afternoon.
This may be a good schedule for maximizing days on either end, but it can cause severe jet lag.
But you can minimize that effect by choosing flight times wisely.
Flying West to East
Jet lag is always worst flying west to east. For example, from the US to Europe.
Departing the east coast at 6pm and landing at what feels like 1am is a recipe for jet lag.
On the other hand, departing at 10pm and landing at what feels like 5am is far more manageable.
On the trips where we’ve done this, the difference was night and day.
Bottom line, fly east as late as possible.
Flying East to West
When flying the other way, like from Europe to the US, we also book the latest flight possible.
Flights that depart Europe in the morning or early afternoon land in the US in the early afternoon. At that point you’ll need to stay awake for another 8 or more hours to avoid jet lag. So book later flights.
For example, we book the 4 or 5pm flight from Europe to the east coast of the US. We try to (mostly) stay awake on that flight until it lands around 7pm US time.
That way, after landing, we can stay awake a few more hours. Then go to bed at a normal local time, and wake up the next morning on schedule (or maybe a little early).
Start Adjusting Before You Fly
We don’t wait until we land to start adjusting.
It’s always harder flying east. Especially across the Atlantic. Again, the flights are almost always redeyes and at worst you depart well before bedtime and arrive at what feels like 2 or 3 AM.
So if we’re flying east, we shift our bedtime earlier by 30–60 minutes each night for a few days before the trip.
And if we’re flying west, we stay up a little later instead. Although when flying west it usually means waking up at 6am the day after you arrive whether you want to or not. In those instances we just lean into being morning people until our bodies adjust.
Hydrate Constantly
Dehydration is one of the worst jet lag triggers.
Airplane cabins are dry, and after 8–10 hours in the air, you land already feeling groggy and off.
So we drink more water than we think we need. We always board with at least two bottles and supplement them with water provided in-flight.
We also carry electrolyte packets to mix into our water. It helps replace what we lose and prevents that heavy, sluggish feeling. The times we’ve forgotten electrolytes, we’ve felt the difference immediately.
Sleep on the Plane (If You Should)
Sleeping on planes can be tricky.
We only do it if it makes sense for the destination’s time zone.
If we’re landing in the morning, we force ourselves to sleep at least a few hours so we can make it through the day. If we’re landing at night, we try to stay awake and sleep once we arrive.
See our full plane sleeping kit here.
To actually rest, we block sound with noise-canceling headphones and a Bluetooth adapter so we can watch movies or play sleep sounds using our own gear.
We’ve tried relying on airline headphones before and spent the whole flight frustrated by static and falling earbuds.
Control Your Light Exposure
Light is the most powerful way to reset your body clock. If it’s morning where we land, we head outside for a walk – even if we’re exhausted. Natural sunlight helps signal to our bodies that it’s daytime.
At night, we go the opposite way. We block out light completely to help our bodies wind down.
That means using a good sleep mask and wax earplugs to make sure we actually sleep through noise and light in a new place.
A dark, quiet room makes a huge difference those first few nights.
Adjust to Local Time (Mentally + Physically)
The worst thing you can do is keep saying, “but it’s 2 am back home.”
Forget home.
Eat meals on local time, go to bed on local time, and stop checking your watch.
Half the battle is mental. The sooner you commit, the faster your body follows.
Move Your Body
Sitting for 10 hours straight makes jet lag worse.
Every couple of hours on long flights, we stand up, walk the aisle, and stretch. It keeps our circulation moving and makes us feel less stiff when we land.
Once we’re at our destination, we keep moving.
A short walk around the block or even light exercise reminds our body that it’s daytime.
On one trip to Japan, we arrived exhausted but forced ourselves to walk the city for a few hours. The next morning, we woke up fully adjusted.
Keep Meals on Local Time
Food is another way to reset your internal clock.
We switch to the local meal schedule as soon as we land. That might mean eating dinner when our bodies think it’s breakfast, or skipping a meal when we’re hungry at the wrong time.
It feels strange at first, but after a day or two, our appetite matches the new time zone.
On trips where we’ve stuck to our “home” eating schedule, it’s taken much longer to adjust.
Use Melatonin (Sometimes)
We don’t take melatonin often, but when the time zone change is huge, it helps.
A small dose signals to our bodies that it’s time for sleep. We only use it for a redeye flight and/or the first couple of nights after arrival to speed up the transition.
It’s not a cure for jet lag, but it has kept us from lying awake until 4 a.m. when our bodies think it’s the middle of the day.
Business Class is a HUGE Help
Having a lay flat seat on a trans-oceanic flight is the greatest anti-jet lag hack out there.
And finding cheap business class flights or award tickets isn’t all that hard if you know how.
You can read about How To Use Google Flights to Find Cheap Business Class Flights And Cheap Economy Flights Too! as well as Passive Ways to Find Cheap Business Class Flights.
We regularly find and buy business class tickets for only a little more than economy seats. And it makes a huge difference in combatting jet lag.
Final Thoughts
Jet lag never completely disappears, but it doesn’t have to ruin your trip.
With the right prep, hydration, light control, and a few key tools in your carry-on, you can feel like yourself much faster after a long flight.
If you want to know exactly what we pack to make flying more comfortable, check out our full list of carry-on essentials. Every item is tried and tested on hundreds of flights around the world.
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