Cabin crew secret: This is the #1 way to avoid jet lag

Jet lag is the bane of international travelers and even some domestic ones with sensitive internal clocks, too.

Fortunately, it is possible to beat jet lag at its own game no matter how many time zones you’re flying through!

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What’s on your plate in the friendly skies?

The preventive measure you’ll need to take to avoid that all-too-familiar tiredness is so simple. And it doesn’t involve popping any pharmaceutical pills or resorting to weird home remedies!

With this tip, you may never have to endure another sleepless night again after flying…

Melissa Biggs Bradley is the founder of membership-based luxury travel company Indagare. As part of her lifestyle, she flies some 200,000 miles annually and spends up to four months a year jet-setting around the globe.

She says she doesn’t have jet lag licked completely, but she’s learned a simple trick to minimize its effects on her life.

The solution is so easy that you could easily overlook it Don’t eat while you’re in the air.

Biggs eats a couple of hours before boarding her flight and then nothing touches her lips — except for a lot of water — while she’s in the air.

“I’ve talked to a lot of stewardesses about it, and it’s a stewardess secret,” she tells Bloomberg.

“Ten years ago, it was [a cabin crew member] on Singapore Airlines on what was, at the time, the longest flight in the world (17 hours from Singapore to New York). She told me that her tried-and-true trick was not eating in-flight.”

Biggs explains that your digestive system goes on hiatus at very high altitudes. The last thing you want to do is cram it full of food when it’s not working properly.

“Someone said to me [flying is] like being under anesthesia. So when you get off the plane, everything restarts and [your digestive system] has so much more work to do and so it makes you more tired [if you’re eaten while in-flight].”

Bradley’s advice comes at a time when airlines are beefing up their menus on domestic flights. Last year, Delta began bringing back free meals in coach. Not to be outdone, American began doing the same for its economy fliers later that same year.

So remember, if you want to beat jet lag, skip the in-flight meals and snacks — no matter how long the flight is and no matter how bored you get.

Just hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

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