Everyone has their own methods for avoiding jetlag, and for most of us, that involves self-medicating with multiple glasses of the free trolley wine.

However, research conducted by Qantas and the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), has revealed that this is more likely to work against the body than for it.

According to detailed inflight studies conducted across almost 500 passengers, 54% of people surveyed used earplugs or noise-cancelling headsets to help them get some sleep, while 38% drank alcohol to a bid to drift off.  Just 10% relied on sleeping tablets for some shuteye.

Specialist sleep researcher Dr. Yu Sun Bin, who is part of the CPC team, said while most people actively try to reduce their jetlag, the study with Qantas shows they are not doing what is most effective.

“We know that going outdoors for sunlight at the destination is one of the most important strategies for syncing the body clock, but only 47% of passengers made the effort to do it,” she said.

“Drinking more than a few glasses of alcohol will make jetlag worse. It might make us fall asleep faster but beyond a certain point, it also disrupts the quality of sleep and causes dehydration.”

The study was conducted to help identify strategies that promote inflight wellbeing and reduce jetlag, ahead of proposed ultra-long-haul flights by Qantas, which would see the national carrier fly non-stop from Sydney to London and New York.