Hello Everyone! Im going to be flying to China in a couple of weeks direct from the east coast the flight is about 14hrs...Im not sure whether to take some sleep medication and sleep the entire flight or stay awake???, but what should I do on the flight to decrease the chances ofjetlag once i have arrived in China??--THANKS

Well the standard advice is not to drink alcohol of course. A lot depends on the time of day you are leaving and the time of day you are arriving. 14 hours seems short. When we fly to Asia from the west coast it takes 14 hours or so- are you sure from the east coast its only 14? Usually the Asia flights from the west coats leave arount midnight- so the advice is to sleep on the plane- no way you can stay up all the way- even if you do-if you arrive there in the morning then you will fall asleep during the day-not good. So rest on the plane- the important thing is not to sleep once you arrive until say 6-7 pm. Then by the next morning you should be almost ok. It usually take another day to get fully acclimated. That has been our experience having been to Asia 5 times now.

CO's new EWR-PEK flight departs just before noon. I don't think one can sleep right away unless heavily drugged. Watch the movie, read a book etc... and nap whenever you want - which probably won't happen until 5-6 hours into your flight.

If you're taking Air China, then that flight leaves JFK at 4:30pm. You will be going to sleep sooner.

You won't be able to nap for too long if you're in coach, but that's okay. You arrive in Beijing around 1pm on CO, or 6:30pm on CA. either way, you won't have too much activities in Beijing that day after clearing immigration, and get to your hotel. You will not have problem sleeping that night.

Just don't plan too much stuff on the next day. You will feel tired in the afternoon, so maybe head back to the hotel for a nap.

Jet-lag isn't too big a problem heading to China. And I don't think you really want to drug yourself on the plane, or you may have trouble sleeping in your hotel bed the first night.

I never take sleeping pills when travelling.

BillT is correct about those W. Coast - Asia flights that leave around midnight, and arrive early in the morning Asia time. You absolutely need to get as much sleep as possible on those, and sleeping meds may be fine. But not on the CO or CA NYC-Beijing ones.

Look for "AMBIEN" it will give you 6-8 hrs of restfull sleep, with no after effects. Take it after the first meal service and tell the FA not to wake you.
Casey.

i have flown this route several times from the east coast from jfk usually leaving around 7-8 pm.i recommend taking something to help you sleep after your dinner meal.i would recommend xanax rather than ambien. the xanax will make you sleepy and will help you sleep for 4-5 hours but will not make you as groggy as the ambien will.the ambien tends to have more side effects especially if you take it and for some reason you dont go to sleep. i have taken both of these medications and think xanax is better. once you get there STAY AWAKE until about 8 pm that night and then go to sleep.you shouldn't have any problems sleeping that night. then follow your normal schedule as for your local time zone. if you can't sleep that night you might take 1 more xanax and then you shouldn't have any problems with your sleep. for some reason i find it easier to adjust when i'm going to the orient then when i go to europe. have fun. kathy

Long flights affect different people differently, but on our 14-hour flights between Sydney and the US west coast we took no drugs (other than a medicinal glass or three of wine), catnapped, read, ignored the lousy movies, and on arrival followed the "stay awake till night-time" rule. We were both in our '50s and not especially fit, but the next day we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And that applied to both directions.

I don't want to sound too blase, but by the same token you needn't approach your flights with a sense of dread - they may be tedious, but they're hardly unbearable.

If you're flying CO's new PEK service, you may want to read my trip report from last Christmas. I flew two of CO's Pacific flights - EWR-HKG and NRT-IAH. EWR-PEK should have similar service, using the same type of plane (777).

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34549939

Here are the cautions about taking sleep meds on the plane: 1. they make you less likely to move about, so increase your risk of deep vien thrombosis (blood clots) which can be deadly. 2. Some people have "untowrd" effects from sleeping medications, and ambien is renowned for this. While many people can take it with no problems there have been enough documented cases of dramatically bad reactions that you should not take it on an airplane without having tried it at home. 3. Some people feel fine after waking up from a sedative, but don't remember important things. A professonal colleague of mine slept well on his flight to Paris, but when he disembarked to catch his next flight, he left everything he brought along on the plane!

I'd suggest that you nap as you can on your flight. Once you arrive, stay up until as close to your normal sleep time as possible, and then get a full night's sleep. People who respond to melatonin may use it to help them adapt, some people use a sleeping pill the first few nights. When you get up in the morning, try to get out into the natural light as early as you can. Try to stay on a consistent sleep/wake schedule while you are in Asia.

You all have given some great advice...Im going to be on the CO EWR-PEK, however ill be up at around 4:30am to catch another flight to get to EWR...so should i just stay up or get a good sleep before my day of traveling?--Thanks

I doubt you can get good sleep on the night before anyways. At least I can't (or because I haven't packed). I think that helps me getting tired on the plane, and can nap more readily.

CO's 777 is tolerable for a 14-hr flight. Note that on Asian routes, they put out sandwiches and water near the rearmost galley throughout the 2nd half of each flight. Keep yourself hydrated and perhaps grab a sandwich or two for snacks in Beijing.

Also, the free headphone CO gives you in coach are the clip-on-the-ear type, which some people don't like. I always bring my own noise-cancelling headphones with a "airline adapter" that will plug into the 2-prong socket in your seat.


You get to watch two movies on your own screen, plus various TV programs, 20 channels of audio, games, etc...

The headrest has adjustable "wings" to hold your head, and if you're really really tall, they also slide up.

Just a few of the small stuff that can make a long journey a little easier.

I suggest that you not use drugs and I'm a chiuld of the sixties. Jet lag has not dampened any significant portion of any of our trips. Drink lots of water and get up and stretch your legs often. Sounds like you'll be tired from the night before anyway. You'll probably sleep some, but not 8 hours. GFood Luck.