HI, <BR><BR>What suggestions do you have to prevent (or minimize) jet lag? We'll be heading from the West coast to Bangkok? <BR>Thanks in advance for your suggestion.<BR><BR>Nancy

I have tried a homeopathic product called "No Jet Lag" (really, that's the name!. I found that it worked pretty well. Hard to find it, they sell it at Whole Food Store chains (Fresh Fields, Whole Foods, etc...) There is also a website for it as well. The claim is that flight attendants swear by the product. Is a bit of a nuisance because you need to take the pills every 4 hours, but I felt it helped.<BR><BR>Good luck--

thanks for you help - will be looking for it, N

Apart from herbal or medicines there are some real 'basics' that if you follow will help a great dealBR>1&gt; Get organised and packed at least 1 or if not 2 days before you travel. Have everything done.<BR>2&gt; Lay off fried or greasy foods for at least 2 days before you fly.<BR>3&gt; Don't overload yourself with cabin baggage but pack essentials such as a couple of good books, toothbrush and paste, moist towelettes, deodorant, spare underwear and a spare comfortable baggy t-shirt. Some fruit candy, note-pad and pencils. These items are comforting.<BR>4&gt; Get to the airport with masses of time to spare, then once checked-in browse the shops, buy a magazine or 2. Have a snack(light), drink plenty of water, lay-off the caffeine and deffinately NO alcohol. Buy a crossword magazine!<BR>5&gt; Do relax, stretch, drink plenty of liquids and again, lay-off the alcohol.<BR><BR>None of the above have any 'medical reason' to help but I firmly believe from experience that much of what is termed 'jet-lag' should really be termed 'travel stress'. Don't plan too much for your first couple of days. Sleep when you are tired. If you wake up in the middle of the night go for a stroll to the hotel lobby, wander around, read the papers, you will soon feel tired again.<BR><BR>I firmly believe not rushing anything, being organised takes away so much stress. Be prapared for minor delays or things not going smoothly and then you won't get stressed. It's an adventure, enjoy every moment.

Being organized is key to overcoming travel stress, that's for sure. However, travel stress and jet lag are two different things. Jet lag is the body's inability to adjust to time difference. For example, returning from Hong Kong to New York (where there is a 12 hour time difference) would result in major jet lag since although you have returned to New York and it is 12 noon, the body and mind still thinks that you are in Hong Kong and therefore it is midnight...you will be very tired!

I don't know if others will agree but I have found that flying from North America (west coast for me as well) to Asia is less difficult in terms of jet lag than it is going home again. We recently flew home for a visit (we live in Asia) and it took us DAYS to get over jet lag once there, but when we got back here it wasn't that big of a deal. I think something to do with the timing always working out that we arrive here at night, so it seems like a REALLY long day, but you get to go to bed when you get here!<BR><BR>Try to be well-rested before you leave. Be packed and ready as if leaving two days before you really are - then you can relax and rest instead of rushing around.<BR><BR>Drink lots of water and juice on the plane, too - if you dehydrate you'll feel hungover when you arrive. Be wary of taking anything to help you sleep on the plane - I've done that and ended up arriving in my destination completely in a drug-induced daze, and feeling decidedly UN-rested!<BR><BR>And non-jet lag related: wear comfy shoes and try to stretch, walk around, and/or put your feet up as often as you can. When we flew from Vancouver to HK in February my feet swelled up so bad I had to walk through HK airport to our connecting flight to KL in my socks, on very sore and swollen feet!

Thank you all so much - this is all so helpful, Nancy

Take extra water on the plane. They don't give you enough. Be sure to get up and walk around to keep the circulation going.<BR><BR>I have never been into herbal stuff but decided to try Melatonin to help me sleep while in China when my head was still in the U.S. I think it really helped me. Within a short time, I was able to sleep when I needed to sleep.

Nancy -<BR><BR>We've live in So. Cal. and have done this several times. I agree with Jen. I find going is much easier than coming back.<BR><BR>Things that help us are the following:<BR><BR>- Getting organized.<BR>- Stretching while on the plane and drinking water.<BR>- Taking zolpidem (Ambien) before we eat so we can go to sleep for the first 5 hours.<BR>- Taking melatonin before bed for the first 3 nights we're on the trip and the first 3-4 nights when we get home.<BR><BR>Last year we only had jetlag for about a week after spending 3 weeks in SEA.<BR><BR>Good luck.<BR><BR>Lynn

I endorse the use of melatonin. Melatonin is not a "sleeping pill," but rather is a natural hormone that readjusts your body clock. Take it about a half an hour before you want to go to sleep at your destination. (Don't use it on the airplane) Other things that help you re-set your body clock: get exposure to sunlight early in the morning (I try to stay on the upper floors of hotels so I can leave the drapes open to get early light), don't nap, try to go to bed and get up in the morning at approximately the same time each day. Take the melatonin for as many days as the time zones you crossed, 12 time zones, take it for twelve days. Do the same when you return home. melatonin not only helps with sllep, for those who responders (not everyone is), but it helps with the cognitive problems associated with jet lag (loss of concentration, difficulty with decision-making, etc.).<BR><BR>While I know that lots of people use ambien (zolpidem) to sleep on the plane, there are potential problems with that. Some people have amnestic symptoms after taking it. For instance, a colleague got off a trans-atlantic plane in Paris, leaving all of his carry-on materials behind. In addition, being that deeply asleep prevents you from moving around much, so you may increase the potential for developing deep vien thrombosis. Ambien can be a fine "sleeper" to use once you arrive at your destination, especially if you are a non-responder to melatonin.

One thing that has puzzled me for a long time, reading the messages on this board, is how do people cope with jet lag when they are on stop-overs? Lots of posts appear, asking for ideas of what to do for a few hours in Hong Kong or wherever and the answers always seem to advise them to do what amount to full-scale tours of the city. Can most people really cope with this when they've just stepped off a 14+ hour flight and have another long flight ahead of them? If so, I'd love to know how.