1. On arrival stay awake until a normal bedtime. Take a 60 minute nap around 2 if needed, but do your best to stay awake until after your evening meal. Get as much daylight as you can.
2. Leave home well rested. Relax your schedule and don’t be so rigid. Be loose with your eating,drinking and sleeping. Make the 48 hours before travel your own. Get plenty of sleep, drink a lot of water, and skip any dinner parties or fun nights out.
3. Use flight to rest and reset. Drink lots of water and skip the booze. Nap or at least rest your eyes. Skip watching TV and catching up on any award winning shows. Your body will thank you for these subtle changes.
4. Consider any jet lag cures. I’m not advocating for anything prescription strength but think about melatonin, vitamins and supplements.
5. Avoid arriving at night. Arrive during the daylight. As they say, “West is best, east is a beast.” Pay attention to when your flight arrives at your destination.
6. Be plane savvy. A350 and A380 have great options like humidifiers, air purifiers, and lighting systems to provide natural light. As subtle as those things are, they make a difference.
7. No no’s: Avoid alcohol, caffeine and sleeping pills.
8. As soon as you sit in your seat upon boarding, change your watch to the local time of your arriving sitting. Start psyching yourself and your body into local time. Avoid looking at your smart device for the time of your departure city.
9. Keep moving and get your blood flowing. Use compression socks and leggings on the plane. Jet lag hates fresh air, daylight and exercise. In theory it takes a full day to recover for each time zone it travels. Exercise.
10. Eat right. As soon as you board your plane, start eating your meals according to the local time zone.
11. Catch up non sleep at regular evening hours. Take a catnap (90 minutes or less) if needed.