How Do I Deal With Jet Lag Before Training?

Jet lag is one of the most underestimated obstacles to a successful start to a training trip, since arriving exhausted and disoriented undermines exactly the consistency and intensity you’re traveling to achieve. Treating it seriously in the days before and after you travel pays off far more than just pushing through on arrival.

Before you fly, start shifting your sleep schedule a few days in advance toward your destination’s time zone, even by an hour or two a day. This is especially worth doing for a trip to somewhere like Phuket, where the time difference from most Western countries is substantial enough that your body won’t adjust on its own within a day or two. Staying hydrated during the flight and minimizing alcohol matters more than people expect, since both directly worsen jet lag and sleep disruption on arrival.

Once you land, light exposure is your most powerful tool for resetting your internal clock — get outside during daylight hours rather than retreating straight into a dark hotel room, even if you feel exhausted. Resist the urge to nap for long stretches during the day; short naps under 30 minutes are fine, but long daytime sleep delays your adjustment to local time and can make the first few days worse rather than better.

On the training side, the smartest approach is giving yourself at least one to two days of lighter activity before jumping into full-intensity two-a-day sessions. Pushing hard while still jet-lagged not only feels worse than it should, it also increases injury risk since your coordination, reaction time, and decision-making are all measurably impaired by sleep debt. A short adjustment period costs you very little time and meaningfully protects the rest of your trip.