How to Ease Jet Lag

Happy New Year! Chances are, there’s travel on your 2011 calendar. In the coming months, I’m excited to visit our hotels and restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles, and a flurry of points in between, as well as do some international traveling for pleasure.

As exciting as coast-to-coast and round-the-globe travel is, the time difference can put us all in a tailspin. Luckily, there are a few ways to fight that groggy, just-want-to-sleep feeling. Here are a few jet lag pointers I picked up on the road … or, should I say, in the air.

1) Adjust your sleep schedule in advance
They say the easiest tricks in the book are the most effective. Well, that’s certainly true in this case. To ease jet lag, prepare for the time zone you’re going to, if at all possible. If I’m traveling to the east coast from the west coast, I try to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. I generally can’t adjust the full three hours when traveling from San Francisco to New York City, but even an hour makes the adjustment a little smoother when I get there.

2) Think (and slumber) like a local
If traveling on an international flight, I manage my time on the plane so I’m on the sleep schedule of the location I’m departing to. For example, if I’m landing in the evening, I don’t doze off on the plane. Consequently, I’m tired enough to go to bed and fall asleep on the locals’ schedule, waking up in the morning rested and ready to start the day. If I’m arriving in the morning, I try to sleep on the plane so I don’t need a nap on arrival. Sleep masks and earphones that play relaxing music or nature sounds really do help. (I’ve compiled my own airplane playlist that creates a calm, familiar environment to help me de-stress once on board.)

3) Keep your circulation moving
A big contributor to jet lag is poor circulation so don’t stay in your seat throughout the entire flight. Instead, get up and move around as often as possible. You can do stretches as well as tense and relax muscles while in your seat to keep your blood flowing. Point toes, work feet one at a time making circles forward and backward, do leg extensions and raises (if you have room), stretch out shoulder and neck muscles, contract and release your abs – you get the idea. Don’t be shy about taking your shoes off; footwear restricts circulation, so bring travel or slipper socks in your carryon. Also, always shoot for the aisle seat so that you can move in and out of your spot without having to climb over seatmates.

4. Exercise before and after the flight
I try to get in some exercise before the flight, as well as when I land. Ideally, I can go outside and get a run in before I depart and again when I land. But it’s not always possible, depending on departure and arrival times and my meeting schedule. Even if all I can fit in is some yoga or stretching before an early morning flight or a quick workout in the hotel gym because it’s too dark for a run, I try to squeeze it in. It improves circulation and reduces stiffness resulting from sitting in a cramped airplane seat. Not to mention it gets your breathing going again after being in an oxygen-deprived environment on the plane.

5) Welcome the sunshine
Getting outside for a walk or run in the daylight has the added benefit of exposing you to natural light which helps reset your body rhythm. If you can’t get outside, be sure to open all of the hotel room drapes as soon as you wake in the morning and spend a few minutes in the sunlight as you wake up — read the paper, call a loved one, or simply gaze at the sights out the window and mentally prepare for the day. Even better, walk to your first meeting or to the local coffee shop.

6) Eat and drink purposefully
Effects of jet lag can include an upset stomach and dehydration. Don’t eat too heavily on the plane or at dinner when you land. Avoid drinking alcohol on the plane. The cabin air is already dehydrating, so additional dehydration from alcohol exacerbates jetlag. Instead, drink water or herbal tea (my preference is chamomile tea, which has calming properties). Lastly, don’t forget to avoid caffeine including that in soft drinks.

Follow these tips, and you’re sure to feel much more grounded.

Happy and safe travels!
~ Niki Leondakis, President and COO