How I Handle Jet Lag After Years of Long-Haul Travel

After years of long-haul flights, I’ve learned that dealing with jet lag is less about finding a miracle cure and more about making a few smart decisions before you ever land. Here’s what actually helps—from choosing the right flight and sleeping on the plane to planning the first 24 hours of a trip.

I have spent an unreasonable amount of time changing time zones lately.

France. Austria. Hungary. Spain. Czechia. England. Then back across the Atlantic.

At some point, my body stopped caring what the clock said.

I still get jet lag. I’ve just gotten much better at dealing with it.

And after enough long-haul flights, I’ve realized that some of the most useful jet lag strategies have very little to do with supplements, apps or elaborate sleep schedules.

They start much earlier—with the flight you choose, whether you can actually sleep on it and what your first day looks like when you arrive.

Choose the Flight With the First Day in Mind

When I have a choice, I like an overnight flight for long-haul travel because I can sleep.

But departure time is only half the equation. I look just as carefully at arrival time.

A flight may look wonderful because it gets you into Europe at 6:00 a.m. What matters is what happens next.

When will you realistically get to the hotel? Will your room be available? And what are you planning to do that afternoon?

Sometimes a flight that lands a little later produces a much better first day.

That’s something I consider when I’m planning flights for clients, too. Getting somewhere as early as possible isn’t automatically the goal. Arriving at a time that actually works with the rest of the itinerary can be far more valuable.

On an Overnight Flight, My Priority Is Sleep

Business- and first-class cabins can turn dinner into quite an event.

Menus. Wine lists. Multiple courses. Dessert.

I usually skip it.

Even in business or first class, I find airplane food salty and surprisingly tasteless. I would much rather have a good meal before I board and use those hours in the air for sleep.

If I’m flying overnight, I care much more about how well I can sleep than how elaborate the meal service is.

That doesn’t mean everyone should skip dinner. If you’re hungry, eat.

I just don’t feel obligated to have a multi-course meal because someone handed me a linen napkin.

Yes, I Have a Glass of Wine

I know.

Most advice about how to beat jet lag tells you to avoid alcohol because it can interfere with sleep. That advice is sound.

I still enjoy a glass of wine.

Usually it’s one glass, a movie, plenty of water and then I’m done for the night.

I’m not suggesting wine helps jet lag. It doesn’t. It’s simply part of how I travel, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

The water, however, I take seriously.

Pick the Seat That Lets You Be Comfortable

For me, that means the aisle.

I drink a lot of water when I fly, and I hate having to wake up a sleeping stranger every time I want to get up.

Window people can have the view.

In business or first class, direct aisle access usually makes this easy. In economy or premium economy, I’ll still choose the aisle when I can.

The point isn’t that everyone needs an aisle seat. It’s that on a long-haul flight, comfort matters more than people sometimes give it credit for.

If you can sleep reasonably well, the first day gets considerably easier.

The Sleep Mask That Earned a Permanent Place in My Carry-On

Last year, Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp gave me a Dore & Rose silk sleep mask.

At the time I thought, lovely gift.

Now it travels everywhere with me.

It’s soft, completely dark and doesn’t leave my face looking crumpled when I wake up.

I’ve since found it, the Dore & Rose Deep Sleep Mask made with mulberry silk that I love!

You do not need twenty special products to survive a long-haul flight.

But if something genuinely helps you sleep, it deserves the carry-on space.

Once You Land, Start Living on Local Time

This is probably the hardest part.

When I arrive, I try to start living according to the clock in front of me rather than the one my body thinks it is.

If it’s lunchtime, I have lunch. If it’s daytime, I get outside. If it’s dinner time, I have dinner.

I also try not to keep calculating what time it is at home. Knowing that my body thinks it’s 2:17 a.m. has never made me feel more awake.

Daylight helps reset the body’s internal clock, although the ideal timing can get complicated depending on the direction and number of time zones you’ve crossed.

I keep my version simple: get outside, walk around and start following the rhythm of wherever I am.

Take the Nap. Just Don’t Lose the Afternoon.

Sometimes determination only gets you so far.

You arrive, take a shower, sit down for approximately eleven seconds and realize there is absolutely no chance you are making it to dinner.

Take the nap.

I do.

I just keep it short and set an alarm.

A roughly 20- to 30-minute nap can take the edge off. The danger is allowing that quick nap to turn into three hours of sleep and then staring at the ceiling at 2:00 a.m.

Twenty minutes can save dinner. Three hours can destroy Tuesday.

The Jet Lag Tip More Travelers Should Consider: Hotel Access

This is the part of jet lag planning I think gets overlooked.

Most advice focuses on what happens on the airplane. I think just as carefully about what happens after you land.

Let’s say your flight arrives in Paris at 6:30 a.m.

By the time you clear immigration, collect your luggage and get into the city, maybe it’s 8:30 or 9:00.

Your hotel’s official check-in time is 3:00 p.m.

Even an early check-in at noon can leave you with several hours to fill when you’re exhausted, wearing yesterday’s clothes and desperate for a shower.

Yes, the hotel will usually store your luggage. You can have breakfast. You can walk around Paris.

I just don’t necessarily want six bonus hours of Paris when I can barely keep my eyes open.

Look at the Options Before You Travel

Most of the time, the easiest solution is choosing a flight with a better arrival time in the first place.

But when that isn’t possible, ask what the hotel can actually guarantee.

An early check-in request is not the same thing as guaranteed access to your room. Some hotels can offer guaranteed early check-in or even half-day arrangements.

And on certain trips, I book the hotel for the night before.

I can go straight to my room.

Shower. Change. Unpack. Take a short nap if necessary. Then go out.

Would I pay for the extra night on every trip? Absolutely not.

But on an expensive long-haul vacation, it’s worth comparing the cost of that extra night with the value of actually being able to enjoy the day you arrive.

Save the Best Thing for Day Two

This may be the arrival-day rule I feel strongest about.

Don’t put the experience you’ve been looking forward to for six months immediately after an overnight flight.

If you have a fantastic private guide booked in Paris, I want you awake enough to appreciate what you’re seeing—and to remember it later.

The first day doesn’t have to be empty. I actually prefer getting out and doing something.

Just keep it forgiving.

Walk the neighborhood. Have lunch outside. Browse a museum at your own pace. Book a spa treatment. Find a café. Have an early dinner.

What I don’t want is an eight-hour private tour beginning 90 minutes after you’ve dropped your luggage at the hotel.

You paid too much and traveled too far to sleepwalk through the thing you were most excited to see.

What About Melatonin?

Melatonin works for some travelers, and there is evidence that properly timed melatonin can help with jet lag.

It has never done much for me, so it isn’t part of my routine.

Timing matters with both melatonin and light exposure, and anyone considering medication or another sleep aid should talk with a healthcare professional about what is appropriate for them.

I get more mileage out of sleeping well on the flight, moving onto local time and planning the arrival day realistically.

So, Can You Really Beat Jet Lag?

Not completely.

I still wake up at strange hours sometimes. I still have afternoons when my body suddenly decides it’s bedtime. And every once in a while, the strategic catnap becomes slightly less strategic than intended.

But I no longer assume the first few days of a long-haul trip have to be sacrificed to jet lag.

The flight matters. Sleep matters. So do daylight, timing and a short nap when you need one.

But after years of doing this, I’m convinced the itinerary matters just as much.

A good arrival should give you a chance to settle in before asking too much of you.

Quick Answers About Jet Lag and Long-Haul Flights

Should you sleep on an overnight flight?

If the sleep period lines up with nighttime at your destination, sleeping on the plane can help reduce sleep loss and begin moving you toward the new time zone.

Should you nap when you arrive?

If you need one, keep it short. A roughly 20- to 30-minute nap can take the edge off without making it as difficult to sleep at the local bedtime.

Does alcohol make jet lag worse?

Alcohol can interfere with sleep quality. I still personally enjoy one glass of wine on an overnight flight, but I don’t consider it a jet lag strategy.

What should you do on the first day after a long-haul flight?

Start following local time, get outside and keep the schedule flexible. Save anything expensive, demanding or irreplaceable for when you’re more likely to be awake enough to appreciate it.

Before Your Next Long-Haul Trip

There isn’t one trick that makes jet lag disappear. What helps most is stacking the odds in your favor before you leave.

Choose the flight carefully. Think about when you’ll actually arrive at the hotel. Give yourself a little room on Day One. And save the experience you care about most for when you’re awake enough to enjoy it.

That’s the part of jet lag planning that rarely makes it onto a packing list.

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