“Jet lag is no big deal,” I thought to myself, booking a flight to Austria for my first-ever trip to Europe earlier this summer. I’ll just chug some coffee and power through.
Nearly a week after I’ve returned, my internal clock is still in shambles. My body’s alarm rings at 5 a.m. and by 8:30 p.m. an irresistible urge to sleep kicks in. My usual “afternoon slump” at work now kicks in before lunch, and midday meetings feel like a fight for my life to stay awake.
Don’t make my mistake — jet lag can cause brain fog, excessive fatigue, moodiness, and digestive issues, which can prevent you from staying focused and making quick, clear decisions.
But there’s a better way to travel, according to people who do it constantly for work and still arrive ready to perform their best.
To prepare for next time, I asked for advice from frequent fliers — from a pro athlete who competes across timezones to a CEO who takes meetings across the world. Here’s what really works, according to science, and how you can get back to peak performance faster after a long flight.
The entrepreneur behind a popular jet lag app says light is the best defense
Mickey Beyer-Clausen, a 50-year-old Danish entrepreneur, is the co-founder and CEO of the Timeshifter app for reducing jet lag.
Now based in New York, he all but grew up on a plane as his mom worked for Scandinavian Airlines. His subsequent career has forced him to grappled with the strain of crossing time zones.
“I started traveling more and more and for business, and I’m not 20 anymore. I really struggle with jet lag,” he told Business Insider.
Jet lag happens when there’s a disparity between your surrounding time zone and your internal clocks (yes, plural — research has found different systems and tissues keep time separately, with the brain as a sort of overseer).
Working with the top researchers on circadian rhythms (the natural 24-hour cycles of the body), Beyer-Clausen found reducing jet lag is all about realigning the brain’s master clock so it can “act as the conductor of the orchestra of all the clocks you have in the body.”
One of the biggest timing cues for your brain is light, which signals it’s time to be alert, while seeing darkness tells the brain to wind down and get ready for rest.
If Beyer-Clausen is traveling from New York to Copenhagen, six hours ahead, he’ll prepare by seeing morning light earlier and earlier in the days before his flight. He also adjusts his nighttime routine to be earlier by avoiding light sooner — that includes no phone screens. He creates a dark room for sleep at 10 p.m. and then 9 p.m. compared to his usual bedtime of 11 p.m.
An executive coach plans ahead to switch time zones before traveling
Julian Hayes II, a 39-year-old executive coach based in Tennessee, who regularly travels internationally, and constantly works with frequent fliers.
He has an involved routine of fasting on the plane and exercising on arrival to fend off jeg lag symptoms. But his biggest recommendation is to prevent jet lag in the first place by getting acclimated to a new time zone early.
A few days before a flight, he shifts his sleeping schedule about 30 minutes at a time to more closely align to where he’s traveling.
A good rule is that it takes about one day per time zone you’re crossing to get acclimated. A trip from New York to Europe, for instance, might take you about six days to recover from completely.
A pro athlete swears by the ‘NBA nap’ and basic supplements
For NBA star Kevin Love of the Miami Heat, travel is a constant part of his schedule, and his job depends on showing up physically and mentally dialed in. For instance, he might play a game in sunny, southern, East Coast Miami then fly two times zones over to Minnesota for a game a day later. A key part of his health routine is the “NBA nap,” a quick snooze before a game to boost alertness.
Love supercharges his nap by drinking an espresso just before dozing which, according to him, ensures that he wakes up fully energized after about 20 to 30 minutes. For peak performance, he follows up with a freezing shower, based on research that cold showers can boost alertness and mood.
“I don’t do it every day but I do ice-cold showers when I need to really wake up and get that, boom, dopamine hit,” Love said. “My mind is working at a very high level as well as my body being just refreshed.”
While Love’s coffee-sleep-icy shower strategy can help you feel better in the moment, they don’t address the root cause of jet lag.
The true star of Love’s regimen is how he unwinds.
He has magnesium and tart cherry juice, two natural ingredients that can improve sleep quality and recovery after exercise. Love also takes supplements with melatonin, a hormone that your body naturally produces to make you sleepy.
Melatonin is the only supplement that helps the underlying problem of jet lag, Beyer-Clausen, the jet lag app founder, told me. That’s because the body isn’t sure when to produce the melatonin you need to fall asleep.
If you’re struggling to adapt to your new schedule and short on natural melatonin to get you to sleep, store bought is fine. Just be mindful the product you choose actually contains melatonin and in the right dose (experts typically recommend 1-3 mg).
A private jet nutritionist eats low-carb breakfasts and low-fat dinners to curb fatigue
Jenna Daou’s job is all about helping elite jet setters minimize any disruption to their routines by providing custom-designed, nutritionally-balanced meals for travel.
As a nutritionist for private jet company VistaJet, she’s picked up a few pointers for healthy eating in the air.
“Your digestive system and metabolism are linked to your internal clock, and when and what you eat can either help realign your circadian rhythm or throw it further off,” Daou told BI.
Eating for the local time zone can help mitigate symptoms of fatigue, she said. For instance, she aims for high-protein, low-carb breakfasts to promote stable blood sugar, and high-carb, low fat meals in the evening for good digestion, relaxation, and natural melatonin production.
Daou said she keeps her meals light when she’s flying, and sticks to her usual habits of getting plenty of protein and fresh fruit during the day, and winding down at night with a cup of herbal tea and a book.
“Consistency is something I really value in my routine, it keeps me grounded, especially when I’m traveling,” she said. “I do my best to recreate that same sense of calm and familiarity, even when I’m flying overnight.”
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