There are few things worse than the woozy feeling of jet lag. And it seems to get worse the older we get. Don’t despair – here are a few tried and tested tips you can borrow from TYW travellers to minimise the disruption:

Eat

• Before you take off limit greasy, heavy foods – instead eat a light high protein meal with loads of vegetables. Your stomach will appreciate not having to launch into heavy duty digestion mode.
• Start eating three meals a day in accordance with your new time zone. It really does help you get in the groove before you arrive.

Drink

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate – flying dehydrates the body so drink even more water than usual. Tomato juice is also recommended by many – apparently it tastes delicious at high altitudes due to changes in our taste buds!
• Say goodbye to coffee – it’s a stimulant, affects your ability to sleep and slows jetlag recovery – no great hardship as airline coffee is barely drinkable
• Avoid the bar – tempting though it is to kick-start your holiday with pre-flight bubbles, alcohol dehydrate the body and can mess with your sleep.

Sleep

• Sleep as much as you can on the plane, especially if it is night at your destination. Always travel with eye mask, ear plugs and neck pillow –you may look ridiculous on the plan but they help to minimise distractions. Try rubbing some lavender oil under your nose, guaranteed to calm.
• No napping when you arrive, even if you are tempted. It confuses the body clock even more

Do

• Limit screen time before, on and after the plane journey – tempting as it is to watch all the movies you’ve missed out on the harsh light from the device messes your sleep/wake cycle
• Keep moving, walk around the plane, do leg exercises to avoid DVT and maintain good circulation. Invest in a pair of flight socks –fashion attire they are not, but they do help the circulation and stop swelling feet

On arrival

• Soaking up sunshine is one of the best things to help our body adjust to your new time zone, so get out there, walk around and enjoy your new surroundings. But if you are jet lagged – don’t drive!

Happy Travels.