A sleep expert has shared his top tips for beating jet lag, and answered the age-old question regarding whether you should sleep during a flight or try to stay awake
Kicking off a holiday with jet lag is less than ideal. After all, feeling tired and groggy and sometimes nauseous is hardly how anyone wants to start a trip, and you may try a power nap but it rarely fixes the issue entirely.
Luckily one sleep expert has offered up some of their best tips for trying to beat the tiredness, as well as revealing how you can put the odds in your favour when it comes to adjusting your body clock.
That includes offering a resolution to the age-old debate; do you try and get some kip on the flight, or do you power through and stay awake? It turns out that your strategy needs to differ depending on whether you’re flying in the morning or at night.
Martin Seeley, CEO and sleep expert at MattressNextDay, explained: “The answer depends on when you arrive. If your flight lands in the morning or early afternoon, getting some sleep on the plane will help you avoid exhaustion on arrival. Use an eye mask, earplugs, and a travel pillow to make yourself comfortable. But if you’re landing at night, try to stay awake for the last few hours of the flight to help you fall asleep once you get there. Sleeping at the right time on the plane is one of the best ways to reduce jet lag.”
As for the flight that could ease your jet lag symptoms? Consider an evening arrival if you can. He added: “Landing at night can actually work in your favour. Once you arrive, keep things calm and dim the lights to help your body know it’s time to wind down. Avoid screens and bright lights, which can trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime.
“Head straight to your accommodation and try to sleep as close to the local bedtime as possible. If you’re not sleepy, don’t stress-relax with a book or calming music in low light until you feel ready to nod off. Your body clock will start to adjust even if sleep doesn’t come immediately.”
While those power naps may be tempting, he warned not to sleep more than half an hour, or it could push your bedtime later and therefore stop your body from naturally adapting to the new time zone. “The goal is to stick as closely as possible to the local time, so your body clock adjusts faster and jet lag doesn’t drag on,” he said.
If you’re going to be flying long-haul, don’t wait until your travel day to adjust either. In fact, a few days beforehand it’s worth moving your bedtime by up to an hour every day towards the time zone you’re travelling to, so that in theory there’s less of a shock to the system once you do arrive.
According to Martin, research has shown that it can take your body clock up to a week to fully adjust, “so every bit of pre-trip prep helps”.
Once you’re on holiday, there are a few things you can do to try and ease your body into the new time zone too. “Temperature plays a key role in signalling to your body when to sleep and when to wake,” he said. “Try taking a warm shower in the morning to help wake you up and a cool shower about an hour before bed to encourage sleepiness. Keeping your bedroom cool – around 16 to 18°C – also supports deeper, more restful sleep. These simple temperature cues can help your body adjust faster to a new time zone and reduce jet lag.”
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