Charlotte Foster
Travel Tips

Former pilot shares tips for fighting jet lag

A former pilot has shared his fool-proof tips for beating jet lag when you’re flying to the other side of the world. 

As an ex-airline pilot, Jeremy Burfoot knows a thing or two about dealing with dreaded jet lag. 

After his years flying Qantas planes to every corner of the globe, Captain Burfoot has revealed to 9Travel the unique way he would combat the condition while he was working.  

"I used to try and stay in a time zone of where I was living," he told 9Travel. "So I went to London, I would just sleep during the day and go out at night."

However, for those who need to be up during usual hours, he advised trying to avoid one thing.

"The first day you get there, spend all day in the sun, in the daylight," he says. "Resist having an afternoon nap so you're really tired when you go to bed."

Captain Burfoot went on to share his hacks for anyone flying from Australia or New Zealand to Europe, which can be some of the most gruelling flight paths in the world. 

"If I was planning to go to Europe, I would try to split it into two, try to fly both of the days in the daylight," he said.

"You'd want to be on a flight to Singapore out of Australia that leaves in the morning, so you're basically doing a daylight flight to Singapore, then you have an overnight, eat some curry or something.”

"And the next day catch a daylight flight to Europe. So it doesn't actually feel like you're up in the middle of the night."

Image credits: Captain Jeremy Burfoot

Tags:
travel tips, pilot, jet lag