How to Happily Beat The Travel Blues
21 tips for jet lag and the unbearable sadness of vacation's end
Ever since my first international trip 26 years ago, I’ve struggled mightily to overcome two things that mar my travel happiness: jet lag and the post-vacation blues.
Jet lag, for me, is an unsettling feeling of wired tiredness and the sense of being out of time and place that I refer to as The Weirdness. Food tastes off, my tummy’s upset, and I struggle to stay alert and coherent after waking at ungodly morning hours.
The post-vacation blues are sneaky: whenever I return from a trip, I spend the first 24 hours happily appreciating the comforts of home. But then, no matter whether I’ve been away for a weekend or a month, it strikes: a glum feeling of deflated sadness that deepens into a pit of despair as I confront piles of dirty laundry, an overflowing email Inbox, a busy calendar, an empty fridge, and the other realities of non-vacation-life. Apparently, I’m not alone.
But I’m from Australia, a nation of curious explorers who happen to live on a small but mighty—and very isolated—continent. Whether we're traveling to see the world or returning for a visit home, long-haul flights are typically involved, and jet lag is a fact of life. And so, after three decades of traveling, I’ve learned a few things about how to happily beat it.
When it comes to post-vacation sadness, I’m always looking for advice, so I asked some well-traveled, wise friends for their tips…
I could talk endlessly about the woes of jet lag and my post-vacation sadness issues - if you have genius tips—or questions—I’d love to hear them!
Jet Lag
Getting as much natural daylight as possible on your first day in a new location is the number one thing you can do to reduce jet lag symptoms. Jet lag is a function of our circadian rhythm being disrupted by crossing multiple time zones, and sunlight is the best tool to reset your rhythm to the new time. And it’s free!
On your first day after a long flight: eat meals according to the new time zone and stay awake until your normal bedtime (or as close to it as possible). Your goal is to force your body to adapt quickly to the new time zone. Drink plenty of water and eat unprocessed whole foods to encourage good digestion.
Go for a walk outside—especially on day one. This is easy if you’re a tourist but more difficult if you’re on a business trip. Combining the first two tips above - spending time outside in natural sunlight and staying in motion to stay awake – will help your body adjust quickly to your new time zone.
Start well-rested. For the week before you travel, make an effort to maximize your nighttime sleep.
On the plane: take evening and morning medications with you and take them as you usually would – at whatever time you go to bed on the plane and according to the new time zone when you arrive.
Avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water—on the plane and upon arrival. Alcohol leads to both dehydration and sleep disruptions.
To maximize sleep on the plane, stick to your usual evening routine: for example, if you always read a book before going to sleep, do that. Put your phone away to minimize blue light exposure, and wear an eye mask and earplugs.
Consider melatonin as a sleep aid. There is debate about whether it works, but I take 5-10 mg of melatonin at bedtime on overnight flights and every night thereafter until 7 days after I return home. Of course, there are also OTC and prescription sleep aids, but I find that their side effects negate their benefits.
Set an alarm to wake at your usual time after your first night’s sleep. Getting your body on a regular schedule is the goal.
Avoid napping: but if you must, set an alarm so that you wake up after 20 minutes. Napping for longer disrupts night-time sleep.
Avoid the urge to over-caffeinate: to avoid disrupting your sleep, stick as closely as possible to drinking your usual amount of caffeinated coffee, tea, or soda.
Post-Vacation Blues
For me, the main component of post-vacation blues is the sense of letdown after something I’ve long-anticipated ends, and the advice I received most consistently was to plan something fun to look forward to post-trip.
, co-author of Departure, a newsletter about a gentle, introspective approach to travel, says “This is often easier said than done, but I like to have something else on the horizon to look forward to upon returning home, even if it's just a day trip or a local weekend adventure.”
When I’m on my game and organized enough to think about my return home before leaving for a trip, I plan an easy, delicious meal to look forward to for the first evening at home after vacation – even if it’s takeout.
A few other things I’ve found helpful:
Reviewing e-mails and clearing my Inbox before returning home. And, although I’ve never tried it, there’s also this radical method for managing e-mail while you’re out of the office, which involves boldly (!) announcing that all e-mails received while you’re on vacation will be deleted.
Taking all luggage directly to the laundry and unloading dirty clothes straight into the washing machine. It’s a small thing that provides a large sense of accomplishment.
“Saving” a good novel to read. Nothing perks me up like knowing I have a great book to read each night when I climb into bed.
Being kind to myself: permitting myself to take it slow for the first few days back, including going to bed as early as I want.
Because I take most of my vacation photos on film, coming home is an exciting opportunity to pack up my exposed film and ship it off to my lab, where the rolls will be developed and scanned (and printed, if I want!). My return always starts the two-week countdown for when my vacation scans are delivered—at which point I open them up like a kid on Christmas morning and relive the joy of my trip all over again.
Before I leave for vacation, I always clean my house. It makes departure day a little bit stressful, but there's nothing nicer than returning to a spotless, cozy home.
I try to leave a full "buffer day" at the end of a trip, so I can unpack, grab groceries for the upcoming week, and still have time to treat myself to takeout and a guilty-pleasure movie.
, a cancer survivor and coach who writes about curiosity, creativity, and growth at The Em Dash, likes to bring the vacation magic home, saying, “I love reliving my trips by wearing or using an item I purchased during the trip or doing an activity inspired by the people or the culture I just visited. Maybe this looks like styling that silk scarf you bought in Florence or baking the biscuit mix you bought in Charleston. Or maybe it looks like booking an afternoon tea with friends or making hikes a regular part of your weekend routine. Not only are they reminders of the amazing trip you went on, but they are markers of how your day-to-day can look and feel a little bit different, inviting newness and novelty into what might otherwise feel mundane and tired.”also uses this strategy: “I often record the trip in such a way that I have something to look forward to when I get home. For example, buying nice olive oil or wine in Italy was a great way to revisit that trip once we were home, or waiting for my film photos from a safari to be developed in the weeks following the trip. It's a little piece of joy that can sustain you!”
Thank you, Henah, Maddie, and Marissa, for your wonderful advice! You can subscribe to each of their newsletters here: On the Cusp, Departure; The Em Dash.
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Thank you so much for reading, and I’ll see you next week! xo Amelia
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I used the Time Shifter jet lag app for the first time this summer and I think it worked! The advice was counterintuitive (it wanted me to stay awake for most of the red eye flight to Barcelona, NO melatonin, and on the daytime flight west to NYC, TAKE melatonin and nap). It also agreed with your strategy to get lots of bright daylight, no sunglasses, upon arrival
Aside from you, Henah and Marissa are two of my favorite travel writers out there...so I'm not surprised that the density of amazing advice in this newsletter is off the charts! Thanks so much for including me here, my friend.