Turn up the heat and dial down the jet lag

To soak up some winter sun without resetting your body clock, head south into the ‘GMT corridor’, says Sarah Marshall

I recently returned from an epic journey halfway around the planet. It sounds exotic and exciting, but the reality of crossing multiple time zones within 24 hours isn’t quite as romantic. After several nights of staring at the ceiling and days spent in a foggy stupor, I turned around and did it all again. Sadly, memories of any palmstrewn beaches and glittering oceans have all dissolved in a haze.

Presumably Phileas Fogg didn’t have this problem; he had 180 days at his disposal. Most of us, however, are in a rush to reach destinations, squeezing every last holiday minute out of precious annual leave allocations. But the results can be devastating.

“Jet lag is a temporary sleep disorder that happens when you travel quickly across multiple time zones during long-haul travel,” says Dr Guy Meadows from Sleep School. “It happens because of a confusion between the timing of your internal body clock and the local time at your destination. This results in insomnia and daytime sleepiness as your body attempts to sleep and wake at the wrong times.”

Struggling to think clearly, emotional mood swings and digestive problems are all connected to a sudden switch in patterns of light and darkness, adds sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski.

“The cycles of our planet have a large impact on the physiological processes that run over a 24-hour period such as our sleep/wake cycle, our appetite hormones and our mood regulation hormones,” she says.

These effects are most noticeable when travelling east or west, over three or more time zones – bad news for winter-sun destinations such as the Maldives.

But seeking warmer weather doesn’t necessarily mean hopping to far-flung longitudes. Look south and a golden corridor of destinations promises sun, sea, sand and even safari without the jet lag. Although the likes of Tenerife and Madeira are already firm favourites, places like Gabon and Mozambique are thrilling wild cards – it should be possible to enjoy every lucid minute from the moment you touch down.

From the more obvious to the outré, here are 10 holidays to keep body clocks in healthy sync.