A professional pilot has revealed the one thing she does as soon as she boards the plan to counteract the effects of jet lag. Upon boarding, Christine Cancar, an optician at Feel Good Contacts as well as a pilot, recommends adjusting the clock on your watch and phone to your new time zone.
This should help you adjust to your intended location’s time prior to arriving. While many phones do this automatically, adjusting those that don’t as early as possible will come in great use.
In addition to this handy tip, Cancar recommends ensuring you are well rested before the flight and staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water. She also advises passengers to take a walk in daylight before the flight, as natural light helps you to adjust, and to try to go to bed an hour earlier/later and get up an hour earlier/later depending on your future time zone from about a week before your trip.
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The pilot undertakes an average of six flights every weekend, crossing various time zones in doing so. Throughout her career, she has therefore picked up many pointers on how to look and feel well on flights, especially with low cabin pressure/humidity levels, recycled, dry air plus a lack of oxygen, all taking a toll on the mind and body.
Among her other nuggets of advice is to limit your intake of alcohol, tea and coffee, as these can be very dehydrating. She also stresses the importance of getting up and moving for five minutes every two hours to prevent stiffness from staying in your seat, just moving your feet up and down and side to side will help boost your circulation.
While as a pilot Cancar wears make-up, she suggests its healthier for passengers to keep their face fresh and clean, as make-up will clog your pores. If you’re on a long-haul flight, moisturiser should be regularly applied during the trip.
Small single-use vials of hydrating eye drops can be used to keep your eyes moist as the dry cabin atmosphere can make your eyes feel dry and uncomfortable. Light snacks are also advised as opposed to heavy, high calorie meals.
To aid sleep, she advises passengers to bring an eye mask, ear plugs and a neck pillow while comfortable shoes and clothes should be worn.
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