Steve Varsano argues jet lag isn't about time zones but cabin pressure. Commercial planes pressurize to 6,500-8,000 feet, mimicking high altitude. Luxury jets like the Gulfstream G650 stay at 3,000 feet, which feels much closer to sea level. Drink water, skip alcohol on flights.
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The thing that everybody thinks is jet lag, people think it's because of the time zone change. It really is not the time zone change. It's the cabin altitude of the plane. If you ever go skiing and you go to a place that's at 2,500 or 3,000 meters and the first thing you do is go have a drink, you feel like terrible. Drink water, drink water, drink water. And every time you get on an airliner, the cabin altitude of an airliner is in most airplanes 8,000 feet, which is the same, let's say, as Courchevel, 1,850. People go on an airplane, they get in the first class, and they have a drink of alcohol. It's the worst, worst combination in the world. It makes you really feel like shit. On a corporate jet, on a G550 and most of these other airplanes, at 41,000 feet, the cabin altitude is about 4,500 versus either 6,500 or 8,000 on airlines. And on the newer planes, actually the G650, you can get down to 3,000 feet cabin altitude, and your body at 3,000 feet feels like it's at sea level. It's above 3,000 feet where your body actually starts feeling a difference.