Struggle with jet lag from your frequent travels? One airline worker revealed his hack for fighting jet lag in a video that's gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Sean Hill (@seanhill1313) with the caption: "Jet lag is scared of me." It has had over 361,000 views since it was first shared on March 20.
The airline worker, who works for the Irish carrier Aer Lingus, according to a later comment, says in the video: "This is how I fight jet lag, as someone who flies frequently as cabin crew."
The video takes viewers through his routine after arriving home on a flight from San Francisco—from sleeping and running errands to sweating it out at the gym before hitting the bed again. It's all about "staying in a positive, productive mindset the whole way through it," he says in the clip.
More people are bound to experience jet lag, with the demand for travel showing no signs of slowing down, after coming to a halt during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Travel is set to hit "record highs" this year, with global tourism spending projected to reach U.S. $2 trillion, fueled by leisure demand, according to a December 2023 survey by the market research firm Euromonitor International.
How To Combat Jet Lag
"Jet lag is a common and underdiagnosed medical problem that can have varying effects on motor and cognitive performance," noted a study in the May-June 2018 issue of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
Jet lag is caused by "a mismatch between a person's normal daily rhythms and a new time zone," per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The temporary sleep problem typically occurs when you travel across more than three time zones but can affect anyone who travels across multiple time zones, the national health body states.
It notes "jet lag can affect your mood, your ability to concentrate, and your physical and mental performance." But there are steps you can take to help minimize the effects of jet lag.
Those traveling to a time zone that's more than three hours different than their normal time zone should follow the sleep and waking routines of their destination on arrival.
"It might help to stay in well-lit areas at your destination during the day. Take any medicine or sleep aids as directed by your healthcare provider to help you sleep at night," the CDC advises.
Below are some other steps you can take to help adjust to the new time and avoid jet lag symptoms, according to the CDC.
- Eat small meals to avoid stomach aches or other problems.
- Avoid alcohol as it disrupts sleep.
- Use caffeine and exercise strategically, these may help you stay alert throughout the day, but you should avoid these in the evening.
- Drink plenty of water.
- If feeling sleepy during the day, take short naps, no more than 15 to 20 minutes, to help you feel better during the day but still sleep at night.
"A combination of these steps will help you overcome jet lag more quickly," the CDC suggests.
Jet Lag Fighting Routine
The worker in the latest viral video says that he arrived home from his San Francisco flight at around noon local time. Below is his post-flight routine, as noted in the video:
- Take a shower and go to sleep. He does his "usual skincare" routine before going "straight into bed" after closing the curtains and drinking water. He falls asleep around 12.30 p.m.
- Stay productive. He gets up at around 3:30 p.m. and unpacks his suitcase "just to make sure that I'm in a productive mindset," he says.
- Eat "something very light" after waking up. The footage shows him having a banana and drinking water.
- Run some errands. He heads out to drop off a package for delivery and does some grocery shopping.
- Hit the gym. He does a two-and-a-half-hour full body workout, something he knew would "really tire" him out to allow him to get a good night's sleep. He finishes his workout with 10 minutes each on a treadmill as well as a bike and a rowing machine. He goes to a pool and a sauna afterwards.
- Have a protein smoothie, dinner and vitamins. The footage shows a dinner plate consisting of vegetables and skewers of meat, and containers of vitamins, including fish oil and iron supplements, which he takes after dinner. "Just staying in a positive productive mindset the whole way through it," he says.
- Lie down on the floor. He is seen lying down in a living room with his knees up, feet flat on the floor and looking up at the ceiling. "Something that I really enjoy doing is lying on the floor," he says.
- Go to bed by 10 p.m. After watching some soccer on the television for two hours, he gets ready for bed. "Keep drinking water," he says, as he sips from a bottle before using a massage gun on his leg. Getting to bed by 10 p.m. he's "able to get up fresh" for 7 a.m.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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