Fight the good fight and make the most out of that sought after vacation time by not succumbing to the mighty effects of jet lag.

Whether on a vacation or a work trip, long-haul flights to distant countries are both thrilling and totally exhausting. From terrible airport experiences, endless waiting time, and day-long voyages, we all just can’t wait to arrive and get settled. 


To help make sure you don’t sleep through the day and sit awake all night, try out these 5 tips:

1. In-Flight

Tatler Asia

Prepare while still on the ground and in the air. This means looking up your flight details and knowing what the time difference is at your country of destination. When you figure out what time you will be landing, you can begin to work on adjusting your body clock by either sleeping or staying awake during your the long-haul flight. Prepare for this by either staying up and tiring yourself out before your flight, if you need to sleep throughout the journey. Or, by staying awake during the trip. To keep you up, binge watch movies, drink your favourite coffee, and listen to all your favourite tunes. 

2. Sunlight

Tatler Asia

You’ve landed, settled into your hotel, and are suddenly feeling a wave of dizzying exhaustion. The best dose of jet-lag medicine is some fun in the sun! Do your best to avoid the cosy, quiet indoors. Bright daylight will do magic in helping to switch your body-clock. Use this as an excuse to explore the new city you are visiting. Walk through the park, get lost in new neighbourhoods, and get those 10,000 steps in.

3. Move!

Tatler Asia

Battle those heavy eyelids by moving! If you can’t get that dose of sunlight due to rainy weather, pack your day with other entertaining activities. Go out to see friends you know in the area, go on museums tours, visit exhibitions, or go workout! By staying active and out of the room you will be doing yourself a huge favour. This will also tire you out, and make sure you are able to sleep soundly through the night. 

4. Alcohol and Caffeine

Tatler Asia

Use coffee or tea to keep you perky during the day and stay away from that brunch mimosa to avoid getting sleepy. But, to avoid being wide awake at 4am, stop consuming alcohol or caffeine at least three to four hours before bedtime! Both booze and caffeine are stimulants and prevent deep sleep.

5. Cellphone

Tatler Asia

Make sure you shut your phone off. Place it on do-not-disturb mode, mute it, and activate the ringer only for those super special phone numbers. Since you are in a different timezone there is a high change that your evenings and mornings have shifted, which means all your work emails, social messages, and notifications will be zooming in and alarming throughout the night. Prevent these non-vital interruptions and get a good night’s rest.

Topics