Flying is harder on your body than you might think. The combination of time zone changes, crappy fluorescent lighting, low-quality air, and high-altitude exposure can really screw up your biology and leave you jet-lagged when you land.
I fly over 100 times a year. After a lot of trial and error, here’s the protocol I never skip.
1. Block junk light
Light is the main signal your body uses to set your circadian rhythm, which means getting it wrong is the fastest way to destroy your sleep schedule before you even land.
Airports and planes are flooded with fluorescent junk light. Unnatural blue light that suppresses melatonin, damages your mitochondria, and scrambles your internal clock. I wear TrueDark glasses through every travel day, and I switch lenses depending on the time of flight.
Daytime flight? I’m in the Daylights. They cut 75% of junk blue light while still letting in enough to keep you sharp and focused. Evening flight? I switch to the Sunsets, which block all the wavelengths that interfere with melatonin production. By the time I want to sleep, my body is already ready for it.
If you only do one thing on this list, make it this.
2. Protect yourself from altitude radiation
Most people don’t know that flying at altitude floods your body with free radicals from increased radiation exposure. That depletes glutathione (your body’s master antioxidant) and when glutathione drops, your immune system and energy go with it.
I spray Glutaryl on my stomach before I board. It absorbs transdermally, meaning it bypasses digestion and actually gets into your system. It’s one of the simplest things I do and one of the highest-leverage.
3. Support circulation with compression gear
Air travel has all the perfect ingredients to wreck your blood flow: low air pressure, dehydration, minimal movement, and hours of sitting. Flying causes a 100-200% increase in your risk of deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in your legs that are potentially fatal). Compression gear improves circulation and keeps things moving.
Start with compression socks.
4. Calm your nervous system
Travel is cortisol-spiking by nature. Early alarms, rushed connections, recycled air, sensory overload. By the time you want to sleep, your nervous system is still running hot.
I take two capsules of Quiet Mode from Suppgrade Labs on the flight. It has ashwagandha, L-theanine, and GABA to bring cortisol down and quiet the nervous system without knocking you out unnaturally. No melatonin. You want your body producing its own, especially while traveling, not becoming dependent on an outside source.
5. Stay hydrated
Airplane air is brutally dry. The air you breathe on a plane comes from outside the aircraft, and at altitude, it holds almost no moisture. A long flight can dehydrate you faster than you realize, and dehydration alone mimics most jet lag symptoms (brain fog, headaches, fatigue, irritability).
I double down on water the entire flight and add electrolytes to keep my cells actually absorbing what I’m drinking. Plain water without minerals runs right through you when you’re already depleted. Skip the alcohol. I know the free drinks are tempting, but alcohol dehydrates you further and compounds everything you’re already fighting against at altitude. If you don’t want to skip, try this before your next drink.
6. Never drink hotel or airplane coffee
Hotel and airplane coffee is a jet lag trap. Most commercial coffee is loaded with mold toxins that wreck your focus, cause crashes, and make everything worse. When you’re already dealing with altitude, time zones, and sleep disruption, the last thing you need is mycotoxins in your cup.
Instant Danger Coffee is mold-free, lab tested, and remineralized with over 50 trace minerals. I throw a few packets in my carry-on and make it anywhere in ten seconds. Just stir into water.
7. Shield your head
Airplanes are a small enclosed space packed with technology and wireless signals hitting you for hours. The Leela Quantum hat has a high-purity silver lining that shields your head from EMF exposure. I wear it through the entire travel day. It also has an embedded H.E.A.L.360 frequency designed to support healing on physical, emotional, and energetic levels.
8. Fast while you fly
Research shows that fasting controls your internal clock almost as much as light exposure does. When you eat, your brain makes a tight link between your sleep and light-dark cycles. Fasting activates a part of your brain called the dorsomedial nucleus, which makes you less rigid with your sleep schedule and more able to reset to a new time zone. In a fasted state, you can adjust to time differences with significantly less friction.
Skip the airplane food. Your body will thank you when you land.
9. Ground yourself when you arrive
I was skeptical of this one. The theory is that the earth carries a mild negative charge, and direct skin contact with the ground disperses the positive charge that builds up in your cells during travel. The science is limited, but I ran my own double-blind N=1 experiment and it consistently improves my sleep after a flight.
Go barefoot in grass for a few minutes when you land. Worst case, you spent five minutes outside enjoying wherever you are.
These jet lag hacks will make a profound difference in the way you feel when you travel. Give them a try. You’ll feel the difference
