Recovering From Travel: Getting Back on Your Feet After a Long Trip

You land at Sky Harbor, drive home to Mesa or Gilbert, and expect to be back to normal the next day. Then the week goes by and you still feel off. Poor sleep, a heavy head, stiff legs, and workouts that feel much harder than they should.

Travel is hard on the body, even when the trip was fun. Long flights, dry cabin air, time zone changes, restaurant food and short nights all stack up. The good news is that a few simple habits make the recovery a lot shorter.

Before you go

• Get a full night's sleep the night before, not a 4 a.m. packing session.
• If you're crossing several time zones, start shifting your bedtime an hour or so in the direction of your destination a few days early.
• Keep your training easy that week. A big workout right before a long flight just adds to the load.

On the plane

• Drink water steadily. Cabin air is very dry. Go easy on alcohol, which makes dehydration and poor sleep worse.
• Move. Get up and walk every hour or two on long flights. In your seat, do calf raises and ankle circles to keep blood moving.
• Consider compression socks on long flights, especially if you've had leg swelling before. Ask your doctor first if you have a history of blood clots.

When you land

• Use light to reset your clock. Get outside in the morning sun, especially after flying east. Keep evenings dim.
• Time your caffeine. Coffee in the morning helps. Coffee after lunch makes the first nights harder.
• Eat on local time, even if you're not very hungry.
• Go for a walk instead of a hard workout for the first day or two. Easy movement helps with stiffness and sleep without digging the hole deeper.

A common rule of thumb is about one day to adjust for each time zone you cross. Flying east is usually harder than flying west.

Coming home to the Arizona heat

Coming back to the desert adds one more thing to think about. If you've been somewhere cooler or more humid, the dry heat here can dehydrate you faster than you expect. Drink more for the first few days back, add electrolytes if you're sweating, and hold off on midday activity.

When you need a little more help

Some of our patients come in for an IV infusion after a long trip or a big event, for fluids, vitamins and minerals while they sit in a recliner in our Mesa office. It isn't a cure for jet lag, but many people find it helps them feel human again faster.

If you travel often for work and always seem to feel run down, it may be worth looking deeper. Low iron, low vitamin D, poor sleep and hormone changes can all make recovery slower. A full lab panel at Restore Health can show what's going on. Learn more about our performance and longevity care for busy adults in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and the East Valley.

Educational content, not medical advice. Individual results vary.