Everything you need to live your best no-alcohol / low-alcohol lifestyle.
Alcohol and Jet Lag can both affect how alert and rested you feel when travelling across time zones. Jet lag disrupts your normal sleep and wake cycle, while alcohol can make sleep more fragmented and make it harder to get restorative rest during a flight. Together, they can leave you feeling more tired, less focused and less prepared for work or activities after landing.
Ever wondered if that airport drink is helping or hurting your sleep? Here’s the sober truth: alcohol may relax you in the air, but it’s a jet lag nightmare for your brain. At NoLo Life, we help you land clear-headed and grounded with alcohol-free solutions.
If you frequently travel internationally for work, understanding Alcohol and Jet Lag can help you make better choices before, during and after a long distance flight.
Jet lag can affect alertness, concentration and cognitive performance, which can be particularly challenging for business travellers who need to perform soon after arrival. Alcohol can add to the problem by disrupting sleep and contributing to dehydration. If clarity of thought matters when you land, limiting alcohol during your journey can make sense.
Then there’s the serious matter of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Sitting still for too long on a plane is likely to cause DVT, so drinking too much and passing out on the plane makes you a candidate. Also, binge drinking has been linked to blood clotting, which again makes a DVT more likely if you drink heavily when you fly.
For many travellers, the normal rules of living seem to go out the window when they arrive at the airport! Seeing all those planes on the tarmac, people rationalise “it’s after 5 pm somewhere!” and head straight to the bar, no matter what time of day. I’ve seen stalls set up for wine tastings at 7 am (who is tasting wine at that hour of the morning?), and people who would normally never drink in the morning are suddenly in the airport bar slamming down margaritas at 10 am.
There’s also the association of alcohol and travel in business culture. Doing a lot of international travel is stressful on the body and mind, and business travellers often use alcohol as a stress release. Frequent flyers often feel entitled to a scotch at the airport lounge – with all these frequent flyer points, they’ve earned it! For many, a bottomless glass is a perk of frequent business travel.
Alcohol is readily available on many long distance flights, which can make drinking feel like a natural part of the travel experience. But easy availability does not mean it is always the best choice, particularly when sleep, hydration and jet lag are already concerns.
Flying and drinking seem to go hand-in-hand for many travellers. Let’s separate them! Here are my top 5 tips for navigating international travel while minimising alcohol intake.
Managing Alcohol and Jet Lag does not have to make travelling complicated. A few simple choices can help you reduce alcohol intake, stay more comfortable during the flight and arrive better prepared for your destination.
1. Use juices, tea or coffee as a reward
As soon as I’ve cleared security, I treat myself to a freshly-made juice. Most airports have juice bars that they make in front of you, with a choice of orange, apple, pineapple, watermelon or carrot. My personal favourite juice is carrot and celery, and in the winter months I add a bit of ginger. It rehydrates me, which is something scotch will never do. Find a juice that you like and treat yourself, your body will thank you! Alternatively, choose herbal tea, regular tea or coffee. Just remember that caffeine is best used strategically when dealing with jet lag, particularly if you are trying to sleep according to your destination time zone.
2. Avoid airport bars
Most airport bars are noisy, soulless places with a TV blaring in the corner with some random sports match you’re probably not interested in. Instead, find a nice quiet café, restaurant or bookstore to pass your time more constructively. I like to look at the luggage stores and sometimes clothing, but most places are nicer than airport bars.
2. Opt for non-alcoholic drinks in the lounge
Having airport lounge access doesn’t mean you need to drink the bar dry! Just because you can drink free drinks doesn’t mean you have to drink them or even should drink them. Instead, have some non-alcoholic alternatives such as fruit juice, sodas or the Australian classic: lemon, lime and bitters.
Reducing Alcohol and Jet Lag symptoms is not only about what you drink. Relaxation, sleep timing and mindfulness can also make long distance travel feel more manageable.
3. Meditation and mindfulness
Yes, you can meditate, even at 30,000 feet! You don’t need a yoga mat, incense and Tibetan singing bowls to practice meditation. One simple technique involves focusing on your breath, and that’s something you’ll hopefully always have handy! For some people the view out the window at high altitude, even when there are clouds or ocean, is mesmerising. I vividly remember watching the crescent moon set out over the far southern reaches of the Southern Ocean, just a short distance from the coast of Antarctica. There was nothing there but ocean (and maybe a few icebergs!), but I say from experience that you can absolutely practice mindfulness on a long haul flight.
4. The power of No
Yes, your work colleagues may well decide to drink themselves stupid. And yes, your fellow travellers might be thinking of you as a bit of a party pooper for not joining in the “fun”. But ask yourself: will they be nursing my hangover?
Give yourself the gift of choice: if you want to drink, fine. But if you don’t want to drink, or you want to drink less, that’s also fine. There’s no sense in drinking to make other people happy. Sometimes a simple “no, thanks” is all that’s required.
Flying and drinking have become closely associated for many travellers, but they do not have to go together. Understanding Alcohol and Jet Lag can help you make more intentional choices about what you drink before and during a flight.
Going alcohol free or simply drinking less can support better travel habits while helping you stay focused on hydration, rest and adjusting to your destination. Explore NoLo alternatives for travel, from alcohol free drinks to mindful routines, and discover what helps you arrive feeling more like yourself.
Thinking differently about Alcohol and Jet Lag can be especially useful for business travellers who need to arrive ready to work, think clearly and adjust quickly to a new time zone.
Explore AF alternatives for travel from mocktail recipes to healthy routines. Join the NoLo Life community for refreshingly conscious journeys.
