How to beat jet lag

Jet lag is the bane of long-haul travellers (photo: Steve Craft/Corbis)

My esteemed e-commerce manager has just told me about an interesting programme that aired last night on the BBC. Called ’10 Things You Need To Know About Sleep’ (available to watch on BBC iPlayer), it covered everything from the best way to stop someone from snoring to the secrets of battling jet lag on long-haul flights.

With a two-week fam trip to Thailand on the horizon, and a gruelling 15 hour and 40 minute flight from Heathrow to Bangkok, this sort of advice is right up my street. Apparently the answer is to eat nothing during (and shortly before) the flight, and have breakfast, lunch or dinner when you arrive at your destination – the meal depending on the time that you arrive locally. This tricks your internal body clock and acts as a sort of ‘reset’ button, allowing you to adjust to the local time and a normal meal pattern in your new country.

Whether or not I’ll be able to hold out from eating anything and drinking only water (and if you’re wondering, the fasting includes alcohol as well) for over 15 hours is yet to be seen, but I’m definitely going to give it a go. I’ll report back on my return to the UK to reveal whether or not this jet-lag-busting method works, along with a few of my favourite highlights from Thailand!

Find out more about visiting Thailand with Audley.