Flying back to London from Los Angeles last Monday with a 9 hour time difference, I made the rookie mistake of not giving myself a day to recover before going back to work. Therefore, last week, all I have to say for myself is that I was recovering. Not an exciting week 37 but I guess the experience still counts as new.
I felt alright the day after when coming in to work. However, having to stay awake and alert during training – that’s where I went really wrong. Caffeine during the day = no sleep at night, now repeat the cycle for a full week.
On Friday night like a true social butterfly, I went straight home from work and slept for 12 hours. I woke up the next day feeling hungover and did the same exact thing all over again on Saturday.
The amateur cure to get over a jet lag is to sleep. I love my sleep so I don’t mind that at all. I’ll happily stay in bed all day until I recover. Lay off the excessive caffeine though, that’s what stopped me from being able to sleep.
Another bad tip is to tire yourself out the night before your flight. Jump in that hoodie and drink alcohol (in moderation please) in order to knock out on the plane, trust me it works. Use the food tray as your headrest. Drink water in combination with the alcohol, you don’t want a hang over along with a jet lag. After all, you will feel much worse if you didn’t sleep and you arrive during daylight. If you arrive in the evening though, the best thing to do is to occupy your mind by partying. That worked for me perfectly in Peru after flying for 18 hours, what jet lag? Zzz
