A travel agent who has been to 120 countries has a tough stance on dealing with jet lag.
“You just have to throw yourself back into things.” Gillian Woodley, 51, tells 9Travel.
“It’s always easier to get over jet lag in your own bed.”
Travel Associates agent Gillian, from Hobart Tasmania, says she is not one to waste days on holiday but prefers to spend as much time abroad as possible before returning to work.
But if you want to break up your trip to minimize the effects of travel on the body, make sure you do it right, she says.
She believes that stops on the way to a distant destination are for a place to see on the way home and should be used wisely.
She said it is essential to stop ruining your sleep.
“If you stop, make sure it’s in your time zone,” she says.
“An example is if you fly from Europe, say with Emirates, you can take a seven-hour flight during the day and then stay in the terminal hotel.”
“Your luggage is checked and you literally walk upstairs, sleep in a bed for the night,” she adds.
“Then it’s a flight back to Australia the next morning.”
An airline pilot also recommended the same idea.
Former Qantas Captain Jeremy Burfoot told 9Travel he would split a long trip in half and attempt to fly in daylight both days.
“You would want to be on a flight to Singapore from Australia that leaves in the morning, so you basically fly to Singapore in daylight, then you have an overnight stay and you eat some curry or something.
“And take a daylight flight to Europe the next day. So it doesn’t really feel like you’re awake in the middle of the night.”