Start before you leave. For an eastward trip, shift your bedtime earlier by half an hour a day for the three days before; for westward, later. It sounds trivial and it takes a day or two off your recovery.
On the plane, set your watch to destination time at boarding and behave accordingly: sleep if it’s night there, stay awake if it’s day. Drink water, skip the alcohol, and don’t treat the free wine as a sleep aid — it fragments sleep and dehydrates you.
On arrival, daylight is the strongest lever you have. Eastward: get outside in the morning. Westward: seek light in the late afternoon. Eat at local mealtimes from the first day even if you’re not hungry. For trips crossing three or more time zones, melatonin 1–2 hours before local bedtime speeds the shift — our pharmacists supply it privately; see the jet lag service and why timing is everything.
Book your travel vaccinations and malaria tablets at the same visit — one consultation covers all three, and standby antibiotics for the stomach too.
15-minute pharmacist consultation, supplied under a Patient Group Direction. Book a time at any of our six branches or walk in.
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