The Solo Traveller
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Health and Wellbeing
Photographer: Bernard Bodo | iStock
Against the clock
By Geoffrey Williams
Briefly …
Jet lag is the often gruelling space between where our body lands well before our capacity to function has caught up. Guided by emerging research and insights from three members of our global solo traveller community, we look at how to move ourselves through that space more gently and effectively.
For years, jet lag was dismissed as little more than a few bad nights’ sleep and a shaky morning or two. But recent research reveals a more complex story, which is that long-haul flights affect far more than sleep alone. They disrupt not only when we sleep and how well we sleep, but also our internal body clocks, mood, and cognitive sharpness, effects that can linger long after the wheels have touched down.
A large-scale study analysing 1.5 million nights of sleep data collected via wearable devices found that while sleep duration typically returns to normal within about two days, the timing of sleep can remain misaligned with local time for more than a week, especially after eastward travel (Willoughby et al., 2025; National University of Singapore, 2025). In practical terms, you might be sleeping, but your body isn’t entirely convinced it’s happening at the right time, and that dissonance can manifest as irritability, poor concentration, or a lingering sense of imbalance.
“… you might be sleeping, but your body isn’t entirely convinced it’s happening at the right time, and that dissonance can manifest as irritability, poor concentration, or a lingering sense of imbalance.”
“We’ve known for some time that jet lag is a challenge for travellers, but this study provides data-driven evidence of just how persistent the impacts are, particularly when it comes to adjusting sleep timing to a new time zone,” said the lead researcher of the study, Adrian Willoughby, Senior Research Fellow at NUS Medicine.
Jet lag is a well-known cause of sleep disruption during travel, but it’s not the only factor at play. Early wakeups to catch flights often cut sleep short the night before departure, while later flights tend to have less impact. Sleeping on overnight flights can be difficult, frequently leading to reduced performance and increased daytime tiredness. This sleep restriction usually results in early bedtimes and longer recovery sleep the following night. Crossing time zones, however, complicates recovery by making it harder to fall asleep at the correct local time.
The study showed that while sleep duration generally returns to normal within about two days, changes in sleep timing and quality – such as more frequent nighttime awakenings – can persist for over a week. These disruptions are especially pronounced after eastward travel and when crossing multiple time zones.
Then comes the landing. The first 72 hours after arrival can feel unexpectedly emotional, manifesting as tender moods, subtle frustration, and erratic energy dips. This, too, is part of the biological recalibration process, so instead of expecting yourself to arrive fully formed and immediately productive, treat this period as a transition. During this time, it is considered useful to seek natural daylight, eat meals at local times (even if your appetite lags), and weave movement gently into your days.
We invited members of our international community of experienced solo travellers to share their insights into managing our health and wellbeing on long-haul flights, and here’s how Tanya Leake, Shannon Thomson, and Catherine DeVrye make it work way above the clouds.
Tanya Leake
Tanya is National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), who specialises in stress, sleep, recovery, menopause, midlife and women’s health, translating behavioural science, and the latest lifestyle research into practical tools for thriving. The National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) is based in the United States of America and sets standards for the profession, but the certification exam is administered at international testing sites, enabling coaches worldwide to become certified.
Tanya’s top tips for managing health and wellbeing on long-haul flights are:
1. Stay hydrated. The air circulating in an airplane is very low humidity so you will more easily get dehydrated. Bring your own water bottle (fill up after security) so you don’t limit yourself to the small drinks served by the airline. Or use that as an excuse to get up and get more water during the flight (see next tip).
2. Keep moving. Our bodies were designed to and want to move! Ideally, you can get up and walk around (or in place) for a few minutes (or the length of one of your favourite songs?) every hour or two. (I usually request the aisle seat, because not only do I have the freedom to get up when I want, but I am also ‘forced’ to get up periodically for those in the inside seats.) What if you can’t leave your seat? Try ankle circles, marching in place and spinal twists (turn around and look behind you on each side) for a few minutes to get the blood flowing.
3. Calm your nervous system. Travelling can create stress. To recover your nervous system, find (and download) guided meditations or breathwork practices that you can use every couple of hours during the flight. (Movement and hydration help here as well.)
4. Prefer to sleep? Schedule flights so that sleeping during them will support your destination time zone. Use/bring an eye mask, if comfortable for you. Even if the overhead/cabin lights are low, ambient light exposure from the screens around you can reduce the quality of your sleep.
Tanya was photographed Grayson Simon, and you can connect with Tanya on her website here.
Shannon Thomson
For Shannon Thomson, creator of ‘The Savvy Tourist’, “Long-haul flights don’t have to mean three days of jet lag, swollen ankles, and questioning every life decision you’ve ever made! With a little planning, you can dramatically reduce jet lag, dehydration and post-flight fatigue, and arrive feeling fit, fresh, and ready to hit the ground running.”
As soon as you board, set your watch and phone to your destination time. Start eating, sleeping, and staying awake based on where you’re going, not where you came from. You can take this a step further by using the Timeshifter app. It creates a personalised jet lag plan based on your flight details and destination, telling you exactly when to sleep, seek light, and avoid caffeine. Think of it as a personal advisor for avoiding jet lag. An eye mask and sleep aid also make it much easier to sleep through daylight hours when needed.
Another major cause of long-haul discomfort is dehydration and poor circulation. I always bring my own water bottle and add an electrolyte sachet to stay properly hydrated. This also helps reduce swelling, especially when paired with limiting alcohol intake. Compression socks are a gamechanger for swollen ankles, and taking time to stand up, stretch, and walk the aisle every couple of hours helps keep circulation flowing.
Shannon, The Savvy Tourist, has been a Travel Content Creator and Influencer for the last six years and Social Media Growth Specialist/Manager for the last eight years. You can connect with Shannon on her website here. To learn more about Timeshifter, visit their website here.
Catherine DeVrye
Catherine (pictured at the Nizwa Goat Market in Oman) is the author of ‘Beyond Timbuktu: Journeys of Hope & Humanity’ journeys of kindness and connection in 150+ countries, to be released July 2026 by Hardie Grant. “I’ve travelled (mostly) solo to over 150 countries,” Catherine tells us, “and these are a few tips that have worked for me or at least made the inevitable a little more bearable!
Physical
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Try to start the trip rested. There are always last-minute things to do, but a decent sleep helps more than another round of ‘just one more chore’.
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Get to the airport early in case of traffic or other delays. Nothing spikes adrenaline faster than sprinting to the gate (confession: I don’t always manage these first two tips)
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Skip alcohol in the air and drink plenty of water
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Choose an aisle seat so you can stretch your legs, and if the flight isn’t full you’re perfectly positioned to politely ask if you can move to an empty row after take-off.
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If you’re lucky enough to afford or score an upgrade to a lie-flat bed, your back will thank you.
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Try to sleep in sync with the time zone you’re flying to. A prescribed sleeping tablet can sometimes help, but talk to your doctor first, of course.
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I used to get sore throats on flights (mouth open, bad look, germs everywhere!). Now I use medical tape to gently keep my lips closed so I breathe through my nose, which better filters the air. Sounds weird I know but has worked wonders.
Mental
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Give yourself a ‘flight project’: write that article, clear the inbox (or at least dent it), or finally reply to those 100 “I’ll look at this later” emails.
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Don’t rely on airline entertainment. Download your favourite books, podcasts, and movies beforehand.
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Noise-cancelling headphones – small device, big sanity saver.
Catherine is a best-selling author of nine books, translated into over a dozen languages, and an inspirational communicator with proven hands-on international experience in the private and public sectors as a corporate businesswoman, small business owner, and teacher. You can connect with Catherine on her website here.
References
Willoughby, A., Vallat, R., Ong, J., and Chee, M. (2025). Insights about travel-related sleep disruption from 1.5 million nights of data. Sleep, 48(7).
National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. (9 April 2025). Beyond jet lag: new study unveils extent of travel-related sleep disruption from 1.5 million nights of data. ScienceDaily.
Geoffrey Williams is The Solo Traveller Group’s Founder and Publishing Curator.