jet lag
May 3rd, 2012, 05:19 PM
#2
Different things work for different people.
But in general - Little or no alcohol - maybe one glass of wine w/ dinner but more is very dehydrating. Drink lots of water. Try to go to sleep as soon as dinner service is over. Don't get involved in the movies - SLEEP. Eye shades and ear plugs help --noise canceling headphones help even more but are expensive. Most airlines give out amenity kits including eye shades.
Stay awake and in fresh air on arrival. If you go to bed too early it will take even longer for your body clock to acclimate. Have a light dinner and try to stay up til 9:30 or 10PM or so. Later if you can manage.
Most people (not all but most) don't suffer jet lag on the westward return flight since you are gaining time, not losing an entire night.
But in general - Little or no alcohol - maybe one glass of wine w/ dinner but more is very dehydrating. Drink lots of water. Try to go to sleep as soon as dinner service is over. Don't get involved in the movies - SLEEP. Eye shades and ear plugs help --noise canceling headphones help even more but are expensive. Most airlines give out amenity kits including eye shades.
Stay awake and in fresh air on arrival. If you go to bed too early it will take even longer for your body clock to acclimate. Have a light dinner and try to stay up til 9:30 or 10PM or so. Later if you can manage.
Most people (not all but most) don't suffer jet lag on the westward return flight since you are gaining time, not losing an entire night.
May 3rd, 2012, 05:52 PM
#3
Different things work for different people. I have great difficulty sleeping in economy - I need to get horizontal. When I get to Europe I go to bed early afternoon and get up early evening, eat dinner and go to bed with everyone else. Next morning I'm synced. I usually have more trouble flying back to the US.
May 4th, 2012, 11:29 AM
#5
Good advice above and I agree with JanisJ, although, like thursdaysd, I sometimes take a short nap, after a walk, on arrival day.
If I need to really be alert on arrival - for work or because I will be speaking another language - I will wake up 1-2 hours earlier 1 week before I travel and then 2-4 hours earlier for a few days before I travel. Works like a charm.
If I need to really be alert on arrival - for work or because I will be speaking another language - I will wake up 1-2 hours earlier 1 week before I travel and then 2-4 hours earlier for a few days before I travel. Works like a charm.
May 4th, 2012, 11:40 AM
#6
The only thing I agree with is different things work for different people!
I have never slept on a plane so am always trashed going to Europe (overnight Seattle to London flight). I've extremely sensitive to any time change, even daylight savings time messes me up.
My best trick is I've learned to build in a couple days at the start of the trip where I have no agenda and just spend a few days wandering around somewhere getting my clock back (Amsterdam was nice for that). I do have to nap the first few days, otherwise I'm a total zombie.
I also use a prescription on the plane and to help sleep the first few nights after arrival, personal preference is an 'anti-anxiety' (xanax) some people use the true sleep meds like ambien which to me are a bit more scary because they are less predictable.
There's all kinds of info on supplements like trying to use melatonin, with varying opinions on the effectiveness, just google.
I have never slept on a plane so am always trashed going to Europe (overnight Seattle to London flight). I've extremely sensitive to any time change, even daylight savings time messes me up.
My best trick is I've learned to build in a couple days at the start of the trip where I have no agenda and just spend a few days wandering around somewhere getting my clock back (Amsterdam was nice for that). I do have to nap the first few days, otherwise I'm a total zombie.
I also use a prescription on the plane and to help sleep the first few nights after arrival, personal preference is an 'anti-anxiety' (xanax) some people use the true sleep meds like ambien which to me are a bit more scary because they are less predictable.
There's all kinds of info on supplements like trying to use melatonin, with varying opinions on the effectiveness, just google.
May 4th, 2012, 05:30 PM
#8
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As an international flight attendant, I beg you to reconsider using products like Ambien to sleep on flights.
-You fall asleep and stay in the same position which contributes to Deep Vein Thrombosis.
-You go out like a light and if we return to the gate for a mechanical,etc. we have to call the paramedics to get you off the plane.
-If there is any type of inflight emergency you are toast.
-Don't take any products and sit at an emergency exit..just saying!
-You fall asleep and stay in the same position which contributes to Deep Vein Thrombosis.
-You go out like a light and if we return to the gate for a mechanical,etc. we have to call the paramedics to get you off the plane.
-If there is any type of inflight emergency you are toast.
-Don't take any products and sit at an emergency exit..just saying!
May 5th, 2012, 07:00 PM
#9
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Our key is to shift our local schedule by three or four hours if we can during the two weeks before. On day of departure we get up on European time and function that whole day as in Europe. Ignore all activity, food, etc. on the plane and get as much sleep as we can. Since we probably have been up since about 3 AM it is easier to sleep. On arrival, do a lot of walking in the sun till about two/three pm, take a two hour at most nap, have a dinner on local time, to bed around 10 or 11. The next day is pretty good and the second day is perfect adjustment.
May 6th, 2012, 08:34 PM
#12
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We did JFK to London with a three year old. Most people told us to take the red eye. I met a woman somewhere who gave me the best advice. We flew all day. We arrived very late London time which I think was about 7pm NYC time. Since we were exhausted from the flight, transfers,etc. we checked in to our hotel, ate a light bite and went to bed. The next morning we woke up and had no jet lag. Best travel advice I ever got especially with a 3 year old.
May 6th, 2012, 08:40 PM
#13
Absolutely - If I lived in the Northeast . . . I would ONLY take the daytime flight. But unfortunately, those of us in other parts of the country don't have the option, unless we stay overnight in NY.
May 8th, 2012, 12:55 PM
#14
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I always take NO JET LAG which are herbal pills that you chew every few hours on the plane unless you are sleeping. Works great for us as we never have a headache or feel disoriented. Taking a walk after we arrive then a short nap - very short - set the alarm and we are good for dinner and bed. I am lucky as I can sleep on a plane for a few hours which does help. NO JET LAG can be found that luggage or travel shops. We've taken it for years and swear by it. there are also some preflight diets that I've seen advertised but seems too complicated for me. No alochol and lotsofwater on the plane is a must.....
May 11th, 2012, 01:19 PM
#15
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I try to schedule flights that land late in the evening (8-11pm). By the time I get to my hotel, I'm absolutely ready to sleep (excitement keeping me from sleeping the night before, light dozing at most on the flights, just being awake for 20+ hours, etc). I set my alarm for a decent time the next morning and get up and go. That puts me right into the correct time zone.
As mentioned above, please be extremely careful with any sleep aid (ambien, herbal or anything). My Mom planned to take her sleeping pill when we got on the long flight to Italy, but was smart and waited until take off. Thank god she waited because our plane had a problem and we had to go back into the terminal and wait for a new one. I would have been trying to move a zombie if she had already taken her pill! In that same idea, don't take a new pill for the first time when you're traveling!
When I actually need to sleep on a flight, I take one or two benadryl. I'm familiar with it, I can easily wake up and function safely on a full dose (though I probably drool a bit), but it knocks me out.
As mentioned above, please be extremely careful with any sleep aid (ambien, herbal or anything). My Mom planned to take her sleeping pill when we got on the long flight to Italy, but was smart and waited until take off. Thank god she waited because our plane had a problem and we had to go back into the terminal and wait for a new one. I would have been trying to move a zombie if she had already taken her pill! In that same idea, don't take a new pill for the first time when you're traveling!
When I actually need to sleep on a flight, I take one or two benadryl. I'm familiar with it, I can easily wake up and function safely on a full dose (though I probably drool a bit), but it knocks me out.
May 11th, 2012, 07:51 PM
#16
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My doctor provided stilnox for one 12 hour trip. I took the tablet as we were taxiing to the run and was asleep soon after. I never thought anything about it until my pilot friend said what dutyfree did.. in case of an emergency I was in trouble! During this flight the lady inside me on the window seat commented that I had hardly visited the bathroom! That is because I was zonked out. It was heaven though sleeping through half the flight!
May 11th, 2012, 10:24 PM
#17
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Thanks everyone for your replies; no sleeping pills for me; won't take the herb 'no jetlag' either; I think I'll try adjusting my bedtime and wake time several days before. Got my eye shades, ear plugs and I'll stay hydrated. I leave SFO 7pm, arrive Vienna next evening at 6pm; then it's on board the Danube River boat in time for dinner and hopefully, a good night's rest. It's funny, flew to Paris 20+ years ago and didn't even consider jetlag and was fine. So maybe it won't affect me but ah yes, I was much younger then and could put my body through more abuse ;-)
May 13th, 2012, 09:01 AM
#18
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Carolcarib-most flight attendants after working all night overseas: arrive;take a shower with a snack and then lay down for 2-3 hours.If you sleep more you get into a REM sleep and you feel like death. We then get up out in the sunlight,have a coffee and try to function with shopping,eating,museums,etc. till dinnertime. Then we eat, have some wine and go to bed. We usually feel okay for the flight back the next day?
Jun 2nd, 2012, 05:42 AM
#20
Some years ago I read a scientific article (where?) that bright blue light resets the body clock to "morning" while prolonged lack of light on the eyes resets the clock to "night." Since then, for flights both eastward and westward, I immediately set my watch to the destination time, and manipulate the light to my eyes to match the destination time.
If it is night at the destination, I put on a pair of eye covers rescued from a long-ago flight when amenity bags existed. At the appropriate morning time, I find the brightest, bluest light source to stare at (sky is best, but a LED TV screen is almost as good). Heading east, the blue light treatment is very easy, just look at the sky at the destination. Even overcast skies have a lot of blue wavelengths.
If it is night at the destination, I put on a pair of eye covers rescued from a long-ago flight when amenity bags existed. At the appropriate morning time, I find the brightest, bluest light source to stare at (sky is best, but a LED TV screen is almost as good). Heading east, the blue light treatment is very easy, just look at the sky at the destination. Even overcast skies have a lot of blue wavelengths.
