Eating at local times is the best way to overcome jet-lag

Cabin crew who are constantly flying across several time zones often try to overcome any jet-lag by sleeping and avoiding caffeine. And while these strategies can help, the better approach is to fall into the local time as quickly as possible, especially for meals.

Eating meals at local times can help you cope better with jet-lag than just collapsing into bed, say researchers from the University of Surrey. They tested the theory on 60 long-haul cabin crew, who either ate meals regularly on their days off in the destination city or resort or followed no meal plan and ate when they felt like it.

Although both groups suffered some jet-lag, the symptoms were less severe among those who followed a regular meal plan, based on the local time. They were more alert, the researchers said.

All the participants agreed that they suffered less from jet-lag when they were flying south.

(Source: Psychology and Health, 2016; doi: 10.1080/08870446.2016.1240174)

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