How to Beat Jet Lag in Airports: A Business Traveler’s Guide

Traveling for work across different time zones can significantly impact work productivity. According to ICAO, when your body clock gets out of sync, it can make you tired and less focused. This happens to business travelers also, just like it happens to pilots. Traveling for work doesn’t allow much relaxation, so it’s important to understand the effects of crossing multiple time zones. 

With the right adjustments made before, during, and after the trip, professionals can boost their cognitive performance and feel more confident with their work.

Quick Summary

Jet lag impacts productivity and performance by hindering focus. Running a business and traveling often requires jetting across several time zones, making it extremely difficult to cope. However, making a point to do a bit of prep work before a trip, and staying structured after arrival, can help with crucial tasks like important meetings and high-level presentations. Smart planning and time optimization can help business travelers mitigate the impact.

 

What Makes Jet Lag Hit Even Harder?

• Each person’s internal clock runs on a schedule, and the predominant control center for this clock is the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It depends on the external environment to stay in sync with the dictates of day and night. This is the overarching reason for jet lag, especially for business travelers.
  
• Traveling in a short time frame does not allow the body’s natural sleep cycle to sync with the external schedule, causing even more sleep deprivation and a lack of alertness while performing crucial tasks.
  
• According to Cleveland Clinic this phenomenon, in which the body’s internal clock gets ‘stuck’, results in sleeplessness, headaches, digestive issues, and mental fog, which business travelers tend to experience more frequently.
  
• A multitude of functions crucial to business, such as temperature regulation, hormonal shifts, and energy levels, get thrown off, leading to a lack of focus and productivity.
  
• With a lack of humidity, often below 20%, the body’s levels of dehydration and fatigue increase throughout the trip, which often affects business meetings.
  
• Reduced mobility during a business trip is also a common cause of stiffness and reduced circulation, reducing comfort during meetings.
  
• Aside from the discomfort, travel can disrupt digestive rhythm, which can affect alertness when one is presenting or performing a negotiation during the trip.

Pre-Travel Preparation

1. Adjust Your Sleep Schedule Gradually Before Your Departure

Jet lag is easier to deal with if you shift your sleep schedule to align with your destination’s timezone before your flight. Start shifting your bedtime and wake time to your destination’s schedule while keeping your work schedule in mind so you don’t get too out of sync with work. 

It is generally a good idea to sleep earlier if traveling to the east and go to bed later if headed west. Small changes to your sleep schedule help your internal clock adapt, so you arrive at your destination feeling more normal rather than out of sorts.

2. Strategically Use Light Before You Fly

Light exposure is one of the most powerful tools for shifting the circadian rhythm to a desired schedule. Getting light exposure in the morning helps shift your internal schedule to an earlier time, while evening and nighttime light helps shift it to a later time. 

This will help your body prepare for the upcoming time shift so that once the trip begins, the body is able to transition more smoothly.

3. Stay Hydrated and Eat Well

It is especially important to stay hydrated before your flight, as cabin air is very dry. Staying hydrated and drinking water before the flight will help your body during the low humidity. 

It is also a good idea to eat balanced meals before a flight and to avoid anything too heavy. It will help improve your body’s preparedness for long journeys and travel in general.

4. Items That Enhance Rest

To maintain optimal productivity during travel, business travelers need to rest frequently. To get the best quality rest on the aircraft, use an eye mask, wear relaxing, cozy clothes, bring a noise-blocking earplug set, and a supportive, firm travel neck pillow. During multiple airport transitions while flying to a destination, bring hydration sachets, moisturizer to keep the skin from drying, and a few light snacks to maintain comfort during extended travel.

In-Flight and Airport Transit

1. Stay Hydrated and Manage Stimulants

Drink water at regular intervals to stay comfortable throughout the flight, as cabin environments cause faster moisture loss. To prevent dehydration, limit alcohol. To support sleep when needed, minimize caffeine. Eating lighter foods during the flight reduces digestive stress and supports more consistent energy levels.

2. Move and Stretch During Transit

To improve circulation and reduce stiffness, move around during layovers or long connections. Staying more alert can be achieved by walking around the terminal and doing some gentle stretching. 

Business travelers can take advantage of quiet areas, showers, or rest zones at some airports to refresh before continuing their trip. These small actions do wonders for comfort and clarity.

To make your wait more productive and comfortable, you can check out practical layover tips.

After You Land: Helping Your Body Catch Up

Before you touch down, here is a small reminder that can change the way you arrive. A Meet and Greet service helps business travelers glide through the airport with less stress, softening the weight of jet lag the moment you step off the plane.

1. Seek Sunlight Soon After Landing

To reset your circadian rhythm after traveling, the first step is to gain natural light exposure. Sunlight assists your internal clock to adjust, and morning light exposure will help advance your internal clock, while afternoon exposure will delay it. Consistent light exposure speeds up your recovery.

2. Eating on the New Schedule

Eating meals on the new schedule instructs the body’s digestive system to start acclimating to the new eating routine. Eating small meals at each mealtime helps signal to the body to start acclimating to the new schedule, even if it does not feel hungry. This practice also helps regulate energy levels for the work activities planned for the day.

3. Limit the Duration of Naps

To sustain alertness and the new schedule, it is important to limit the time spent napping to prevent having difficulty sleeping at night. This helps business travelers maintain a good cycle of productivity when meetings and work sessions are in order.

4. Encourage Movement to Alleviate Stiffness

Light stiffness from long flights can be reduced with light activities like walking or stretching. If done late enough in the day, exercise can delay sleep. To help movement into the new schedule, light activities can aid in a smoother transition.

Direction Matters: East vs West

Jet lag affects each passenger differently, and innermost body clocks almost always hate flying east. According to the Sleep Foundation, the internal clock naturally runs slightly longer than 24 hours, making phase delays (westward shifts) easier for the body to handle, while phase advances (eastward shifts) are more difficult.

Business travelers often have a tough time falling asleep earlier than usual. In contrast, westbound flights make it easier to adjust to the new time zone since backtracking is a more natural process for the body. 

How Pilots and Crew Manage Jet Lag?

Aviation professionals must work within strict fatigue management systems because their performance and safety depend on a high level of alertness. Airlines schedule flights based on circadian science to ensure pilots get proper rest before and after long flights. 

According to IATA, even trained aviation crews need careful scheduling and rest to stay alert, which highlights the importance of fatigue management for business travelers who face similar time zone shifts. Crew members also follow rules for hydration, sleep, and light exposure relative to their route. These practices maintain cognitive performance and offer useful guidance for business travelers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best strategy to beat jet lag?

The ideal method is a combination of sleep shifts, sleep light exposure, hydration, and meal timing strategies. Adjusting one’s body to the new schedule before takeoff reduces the stress on the body caused by time zone changes. Getting exposure to sunlight helps one’s body’s internal clock adjust to the new time zone. Supporting one’s body by drinking water and eating according to the local meal schedule helps the body adjust quickly.

Which direction is the worst for jet lag?

Eastward flights cause the most disruption because the day is getting shorter. Adjusting to a longer day is easier on the internal clock; thus, jet lag is less of a concern when traveling west. These eastbound flights lead to increased sleep disruption.

How do commercial pilots deal with jet lag?

Regulated shifts, pre-scheduled sleep opportunities, and hydration strategies help pilots mitigate jet lag. On long-haul flights, many airlines provide sleep pods and encourage light exposure to help manage fatigue. These systems keep pilots in a good state to complete their required tasks.

How do people deal with jet lag after an international vacation?

The majority of individuals take a reset approach and realign themselves with their normal routines. Getting exposure to morning sunshine helps adjust their internal clock. Eating meals at set times and avoiding long naps help recapture stability. Light exercise can also be beneficial during recovery.

Staying Sharp When Work Takes You Far

Many travelers, especially those on business, deal with jet lag. It’s the suffering of low productivity, impaired focus, and reduced overall functionality. It’s especially true if there are meetings to attend or demanding tasks to complete after just arriving. Displaced timezone shifts the internal clock. 

However, its effect can be minimized with strategic planning. Business travelers can plan their trips with confidence and clarity, regardless of the number of time zone shifts they encounter. Preparing the body before departure, managing hydration and rest during travel, and using sunlight and maintaining consistent routines after arrival help business travelers sustain peak performance. For business travelers, airssist gives you solutions that make every trip smoother, calmer, and far more manageable. 

So what about booking services that help you avoid the stress of long lines, tight connections, and exhausting airport routines?

 

Sources

• ICAO – Fatigue Management and FRMS Tools (Doc 9966)
  https://www2023.icao.int/safety/fatiguemanagement/FRMS%20Tools/Doc%209966.FRMS.2016%20Edition.en.pdf
• IATA – Fatigue Management Guide for Airline Operators
  https://www.iata.org/contentassets/39bb2b7d6d5b40c6abf88c11111fcd12/fatigue-management-guide_airline20operators.pdf
• CDC – Jet Lag Guidance for Travelers
  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/jet-lag
• Sleep Foundation – Jet Lag Overview and Symptoms
  https://www.sleepfoundation.org/travel-and-sleep/jet-lag
• Cleveland Clinic – Jet Lag Symptoms and Treatment
  https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12781-jet-lag

 

Note: Please note that the information on this page is generic & subject to change due to fluctuations in airport services. Kindly confirm service availability with our team, as offerings may vary daily.