Prevent jet lag, in a flash

Light flashing goggles are the future of inflight health, but how can you avoid jet lag now?

I’m currently writing this 40,000 feet over the Java Sea with pins and needles in my thighs, a reclined seat jammed into my knees and am on my third coffee to help me adjust to the next time zone.

Now seems as good a time as ever to respond to the readers who’ve asked for the best ways to fight off jet lag and improve their general inflight health.

To avoid looking like a zombie staggering through customs at the other end, a bit of pre-flight preparation can help fight the worse effects of crossing oceans in a day.

In news that will shock absolutely nobody, the best you can do is keep more hydrated and avoid all the fun parts of flying – that would be the continuous eating and open bar.

Alcohol will dehydrate you, even if it might help you sleep.

Too much food will focus your body on digestion rather than relaxation and increases the chance of bloating that will mess with your natural sleep rhythms (which will be already frazzled by speeding through various time zones).

Poorly made airline coffee offers caffeine to stay awake and adjust to the local time zone if need be.

Some factors which affect your inflight health are beyond your control.

With each flash new Boeing or Airbus emphasis is placed on air quality, light and passenger health, but this is countered by airlines cramming more seats in. Canned sardines are prone to jet lag.

There has been a recent push with Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner to combat the arid atmosphere created by plane air conditioning systems.

Systems that can often leave passengers feeling like a musty sponge with dry skin, airways and itchy eyes at the end of a long haul journey.

Again, hydration is key (along with eye drops and moisturiser).

You may soon notice passengers in the seats next to you with futuristic goggles, submitting themselves to flash light therapy (where your eyes are jolted by camera flashes of bright light).

A 2016 study of travellers found that exposure to brief bursts of light while sleeping was effective in alleviating jet lag symptoms.

The light exposure, even with your eyes closed, sends signals from the retina to your brain’s circadian system that alters the biological clock.

The study’s head scientist Jamie Zeitzer, from Stanford University Medical Centre, said: ‘‘This could be a new way of adjusting much more quickly to time changes than other methods in use today.’’

The theory behind this has been around for a while, even if perfecting it is recent and with gadgets that wouldn’t look out of place in Back To The Future.

Light exposure and its effect on your brain’s sleep hormone melatonin remains key. For westward travel, Cathay Pacific recommends late evening exposure to bright light to help delay the onset of sleepiness.

Conversely for eastward travel, early morning exposure to light helps promote sleepiness in the late evening.

A more low-tech option is to get some sunshine (or your favourite device’s white back light so you don’t feel tired and to avoid these things when it is the local lights-out time).

It seems the sci-fi connotations won’t cease if you look to what some industry players are investing in to analyse passenger health data.

Late last year British Airways patented a technology that would offer passengers a microchip to swallow so staff could monitor their health and comfort before they themselves even have to ask for water or an extra pillow – a bit more advanced than my method of two glasses of wine and a sleeping pill, but whatever works.

To avoid looking like a zombie staggering through customs, a bit of pre-flight preparation can help fight the worse effects of crossing oceans in a day.

Email if you have a travel issue you’d like Josh Martin, a London-based travel journalist, to write about.