This article shares my personal experiences with overcoming and minimizing the effects of jet lag. Please note that this only represents my personal experience and opinion, not any medical advice.
These tips have been shaped by my own travels over the years, including a 4 week period where I was in five different timezones. Implementing these strategies, I’m able to hit the ground running on my trips and minimize feelings of sleepiness or discomfort
Flight Timing
In my opinion, this becomes more important when there is a timezone difference of >3 hours.
For the departing flight:
My personal strategy when there’s a big timezone difference is to take a flight that allows me to depart later in the night and arrive in the morning at my destination. During the flight, I will aim to sleep for at least 4 hours before the scheduled landing time. This helps with quicker adjustment to the new timezone.
For the return flight:
Personally I am less concerned about the timing of this. I don’t want to be sleepy and jetlagged while on vacation to an exciting place, but being a bit sleepy once back at home is less concerning to me. My principle for the return flight is to avoid sleeping for an extended period close to the evening in my home time zone, which can make it difficult to sleep the first night after my return.
Some examples from past trips:
NYC to Tokyo (13 hour time difference):
My departing flight (13 hours total) left NYC at 1am. I stayed awake for several hours, took a short nap, then stayed awake for a few more hours before sleeping for the final 5 hours of the flight. Landed in Tokyo at 4:30am. I made it to the hotel before 7am and felt ready to start my day. I took brief naps (30 minutes) in the first two days
My return flight (13 hours) departed Tokyo at 7:30pm. I stayed awake for several hours, napped for about 5 hours, was awake for a few more hours, and then had a short nap before landing in NYC at 7:30pm. I was able to sleep my first night back home.
NYC to Spain/Portugal (6 hour time difference):
My departing flight left from NYC at 10pm and landed in Madrid at 11:30am. This is a 7 hour flight and I fell asleep shortly after takeoff. I did not notice any sleepiness even on the first day
My return flight departed from Lisbon, Portugal at 12:15pm and landed in NYC at 3:15pm. This was an 8 hour flight, and I napped for a few hours in the middle of the flight.
Sleeping on the plane
The above flight timing strategies rely on being able to sleep on the plane.
Some tips I have found helpful:
- Window seat – I can rest my body along the side of the plane. Something about the vibrations seems to help me sleep (similar to why some people may have an easy time falling asleep riding in a car). And no being woken up by your seat neighbors that need to get to the aisle to use the bathroom.
- Silicone earplugs – I like these ones by Mack’s. They’re great at blocking out excess sounds, while still allowing you to hear important louder sounds like overhead announcements.
- Cover your eyes – Some people like eye masks. Personally I like wearing dark red blue-blocking glasses while sleeping on a plane. Some quality brands include EMR Tek and RA Optics
- Supplements – if you take any supplements to help you sleep, time them to help you sleep the final few hours of the plane ride.
If you really have trouble sleeping on the plane, feel vulnerable to the effects of jet lag, and have the financial means, it may be worth it to upgrade to a higher level of seating like premium economy or business class to help you sleep and hit the ground running on your trip.
Sleep Hygiene
The following habits can help reset the body clock when in a new timezone.
Sun exposure
Being in the sun in the early morning and in the late afternoon + early evening hours helps set the body clock. For the morning, sun exposure before 10am may be ideal.
It can be especially helpful to have the sunlight hit your eyes directly during those morning and afternoon/evening periods. Just be outside with sunglasses… please don’t look directly at the sun! During the stronger mid-day sun, you can use sun protection if you wish.
Meal timing:
Try to avoid eating 2 hours before bed (4 hours is ideal). Some people may find having a heartier meal earlier in the day (morning or mid-day) helpful for adjusting their body to a new timezone.
Embrace change
In a new timezone, your sleep and waking times may differ from your habits at home, and that’s ok! For example, when I went to Japan in June, the sun would set around 8:30 and rise around 4am. Thus I found myself going to sleep around 10pm and waking up around 5-6am. Before I left for that trip, I was going to sleep around 12am and waking up at 8am at home.
Meditation
In my opinion and personal experience, this is one of the most powerful ways to adjust your body to a new timezone.
What do I mean by meditation? Many people think of meditation as sitting with your legs criss-cross, closing your eyes, and having relaxing music playing in the background while you try not to think.
This is not what I mean by meditation to adjust to a new timezone.
My version of meditation is being present with harmonious energies in your new destination. No floormats, background music, or mantras required.
I will go find somewhere with a harmonious energy in my destination city. This can include places like a park, garden, temple, or church. Once there, I focus on being fully present and connecting with the location’s energy.
If you are less experienced with meditation, the following techniques may be helpful to get you started:
- Imagine yourself like a drop of the water in the ocean, immersed in and connected to the location. You and that location are one.
- Touch a large tree and imagine yourself connecting with its energy and essence. The grounding from this is also helpful.
- Pretend you just arrived here, no past no future (this one is straight from RJ Spina).
- Stare at something in your chosen location. It could be a tree, a wall, a statue, whatever your eye is drawn to.
Finding places to do this comes naturally to me since I perceive energy, but if you want help finding somewhere to do this, you can book a location assessment before your trip.
For more teachings on meditation I recommend RJ Spina’s work. In particular, his book Access Super Consciousness has many specific meditations that can be helpful. He also has many free videos on YouTube about meditation.
Energetic Frequencies
On the topic of energies, there are certain energetic frequencies I have found that help me feel my best when traveling. I understand this subject may be controversial to some, but I have personally found these helpful as an adjunct to the above methods about flight timing and meditation. Many energetically sensitive people I know report benefit from certain energetic frequencies.
Earth Pulse
This is an energy frequency bundle sold by Subtle Energy Sciences. In my opinion their products are great and can be very powerful when used in the right context. I use some of their products in the Home Harmony Enhancement process.
The Earth Pulse frequency in particular seems to help me feel grounded, especially after changing timezones. I will set my phone background to the image included in the frequency bundle. Additionally, you can play the silent audio track on your phone.
Quantum Upgrade
This is a subscription from LeelaQ. They are another great company that makes excellent products I have personal experience with.
The Quantum Upgrade subscription broadcasts a mix of energetic frequencies to your person. LeelaQ’s claims this may help with countering the effects of EMFs and other disharmonious energies you may encounter when out in the world.
Additionally, they offer frequency bundles that allow you to choose different frequencies to be added to the broadcasted energy field. The Calm & Rest frequency, found in the H.E.A.L. bundle, is something I have found helpful for winding down for rest in the evenings, even after changing timezones.
Calm & Rest is also found in their All-In-One frequency bundle, in case you want to play around with the other frequencies. Unity is one I also really like.
Just make sure you update the timezone setting on your frequency field! You can do this before your plane departs, but just make sure not to forget to do it once you arrive at your destination!