What Actually Is Jet Lag? How To Avoid The Dreaded Post-Travel Anguish

Whether you’re trying to avoid falling asleep at the dinner table or staring at your hotel room ceiling at 4 am, it’s a burden felt by most long-haul jet-setters. Fortunately, this uncomfortable state of existence is only temporary, plus there are a few steps you can take to minimize the sting.

What Is Jet Lag?

Jet lag can affect anyone who travels across multiple time zones in a short space of time, resulting in a mismatch between a person's circadian rhythm (their internal clock) and a new time zone.

Let’s say you’ve flown from New York to Tokyo. It might be 10 pm in Japan, but your body will still be in the groove of “thinking” it’s 8 am Eastern Standard Time. Most locals will be getting ready for bed, while your circadian rhythm is just firing up for what your body thinks will be the long day ahead. 

To make matters worse, this internal clock is guided by key factors like light exposure, food intake, and sleep patterns – all of which can be thrown off by long travel. The less-than-ideal conditions of air travel, from stress and dehydration to lack of sunlight and irregular meals, can further disrupt the body's rhythm.

Typical symptoms of jet lag include tiredness, difficulty sleeping at bedtime, trouble waking up in the morning, grogginess, mental fuzziness, and general grumpiness. According to the UK’s National Health Service, some people might also experience indigestion, nausea, changes in appetite, and mild anxiety.

Your circadian rhythm is closely intertwined with multiple other things – including mood, performance, hormone release, metabolism, and immune function – so it is no surprise that disrupting the normal cycle can leave your body and mind feeling a bit “out of whack.” 

How Long Does Jet Lag Last?

The severity and longevity of jet lag can vary due to many factors, but the length of your journey is an important factor to consider. A short flight from London to Paris with a 1-hour time difference is unlikely to impact most passengers, but even hardened travelers will struggle with a trans-continental flight across half the planet.

For most people, the circadian rhythm takes around 1 to 1.5 days to adapt per time zone crossed, as per the Sleep Foundation. 

In other words, if you’ve flown across three time zones in a day, you can expect jet lag to linger for 3 to 4.5 days after you land. That’s only a loose rule, though, and some people can experience some sense of jet lag that lasts for weeks.

How To Prevent Jet Lag

Like many ailments, prevention is better than the cure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s possible to prepare yourself for jet lag by slightly adjusting your sleep patterns to the time zone you are soon to encounter. If you're traveling west, gradually shift your bedtime an hour or two later than usual; if heading east, try going to bed earlier a few days before your journey.

If possible, ease into your trip. Try to allow a few days to adjust, especially if you have an important meeting or event coming up that requires the best of your mind, body, and soul.

How To Get Over Jet Lag

If the pre-holiday rush caught up with you and you failed to take those preventive steps, there is still some hope.

Stay hydrated. It’s a simple tip, but you’ll be surprised how much a lack of fluids can deepen the feelings of jet lag. Likewise, be careful with consuming alcohol and caffeine. They might help you in the short term, but they can ultimately meddle with your circadian rhythm.

Avoid naps. Try to resist the overwhelming urge to ignore the local timezone and catch some shut-eye. If you must rest, keep it under 20 minutes, and make sure it's at least eight hours before your planned bedtime.

Exercise, lightly. Frequent travelers often swear by hitting the gym and engaging in a post-flight workout, but you might want to avoid heavy exercise while in the depths of jet lag. Instead, opt for something gentle – like a brisk walk in your new destination – which can also help you soak up natural daylight and get your body back into the swing of things. 

Eat wisely. Well-timed meals can be a very important ally in your battle against post-travel malaise. A 2023 study by Northwestern University suggested that attempting to eat meals at the “normal” time of your new time zone can help to kick your body in adapting. Most importantly, they emphasized that having a large, hearty breakfast in the morning of your new time zone is an effective strategy.

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.