My husband and I are travelling to the Great Barrier Reef/QSLD/Sydney for a week and a half from California. We have a pretty packed trip as we want to see and experience as much as possible while we're there! WE're hoping we don't fall asleep in the middle of our rainforest excursion or dive trip! Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for combatting jet lag? We will be returning from our trip on a Saturday afternoon and will both have to go back to work on Monday as well...Any advice re: sleep patterns, tips, medication would be most helpful! Thanks!

You are lucky on the way over because jet lag is not as much of a problem going east to west. Don't drink alcohol or coffee or eat too much on the plane. Drink plenty of orange juice or similiar and try and get some sleep. Mainly though try and get into the same sleep pattern as you would have in Australia as soon as possible i.e. try and stay awake until the evening of your arrival. <BR>Have a wonderful holiday and a great trip. <BR>Who cares after the holiday if you are asleep on the job :0)

I read recently that dehydration is a major cause of jetlag. We flew from Australia to Rome recently and I tried to drink as much water (must be water apparently, not just liquids) as possible. I really felt it made a difference, we weren't as tired as we have been before on arrival. Maybe take a big bottle of water with you so you don't have to rely on drink service on the plane.<BR>Kay

Thanks Liz & Kay!! I will definitely try the water/sleep thing! Has anyone tried melatonin pills? A friend mentioned them...wasn't sure if they were safe or effective?!?! and good point Liz....who really cares if I'm alseep at my desk on Monday?!!? Hope you guys have a great day!

i've used melatonin on a couple of trips. Take it early in the trip and it tricks your brain into thinking you're sleepy. I fell asleep while still on the runway, but had no ill effect afterward.<BR>

Lori,<BR><BR>Did you buy the melatonin at a pharmacy or grocery/health food store? Are there directions on the label as to how much and when to take them? Did you take your pill(s) for the first few days of your trip? Are you supposed to take them at bedtime? (the "bedtime" of your destination?) Sorry for all the questions...I'm just concerned that i'll be sleeping through my whole vacation! (I went to Europe a few years ago and was literally a zombie for five straight days!!!) Thanks so much! Hope you have a great day!

I flew back from Argentina to Australia last week. The plane took off at 1.20 AM !!!! I *think* I had dinner on the plane and the stewardess was surprised that I didn't remember the special icecream desert but I think I was asleep with the spoon in my hand. I slept most of the way the NZ, got up and walked around the airport there. Back on the plane I had breakfast and slept till we were just about the land in Sydney at 8 AM ( in all I think a 17 hour flight) connected to other aircraft, picked up my car and then drove another hour, opened mail and got on the email all day whilst trying to put away my packed clothes. Went to bed about 7.PM and had about 10 hours sleep and woke up refreshed and ready to go. No real jet lag at all. However I do take a **** SHORT acting **** tranquilizer just before getting on the plane and that makes sure I sleep but leaves no hang over. It works for me but you have to decide if it would work for you.<BR>Good luck

Liz,<BR><BR>So, when you say ***short acting*** tranquilizer - do you mean sleeping pill or...?!?! that sounds like a plan though. i like the melatonin/sleeping pill/water idea...Anyway, thanks so much for all your suggestions! And how was Argentina by the way?

No I don't mean a sleeping pill because most of them are not short acting and your jet lag after taking them is more to do with a sleeping pill than the jet lag itself. I mean something like oxazepam ( serapax) which is short acting and does not have a long half life - in other words you are not left feeling groggy. HTH Liz<BR>

PS<BR>Argentina was wonderful and I hope very much to return ASAP. I loved Chile and Peru too - perhaps Peru was one of the most interesting places I have ever been to. The people were fantastic and I just had the best time.

Jules, since Liz mentioned Oxazepam, I should let you know that you need a prescription to get this and I higly advise that you do not take a tranquilizer to sleep thru your flight. A tranquilizer has a potent effect and people can build tolerance to it. If you're used to taking it, you might only be out for a couple of hours but if you're not used to taking it or any other kinds of tranquilizers or sleeping pills, I could assure you that you will sleep for a looooong time and be disoriented when you wake up. My suggestion, stick with the over-the-counter medicines. You can get melatonin from your pharmacy or any healthfood store. You only take it once a day at bedtime. Remember, there are other ways of combatting jetlag like taking a lot of fluids during the flight, try to get up and walk around as much as you can and adjust your watch as soon as you get in the plane to the time in your destination. Try to stay up till midnight when you get to your destination. I did all these in my 23 hour flight to Asia and even though I was tired for a couple of days, I was still able to enjoy my vacation and do all the things that I wanted. The difficult part is going home. That's when jetlag really sets.

Tess: Are you a medico? If not then the information I gave to Jules was from a Doctor of Medicine ( my husband) who in fact always uses this method to combat jetlag. I am not in the habit of giving medical or any other information without it coming from a professional/scientific person. When you suggest that someone takes ANY medication, including that bought at a health food store, you are forgetting that you have absolutely no information about the health condition of the person who you are suggesting this to nor do you know if in fact they are taking any medication that can or will adversely interact with the medication that you have suggested. Yes of course the medication I suggested is only available with prescription and that means that the person concerned has to attend his GP and then all the other issues can be addressed with safety. Anyone who thinks that because you can get something from a health food shop makes that something safe is only kidding themselves and to give health information either without qualifications or without knowledge of the person concerned when there is absolutely no checks and balances i.e. them seeing their doctor, is inviting problems and possible disaster.

I read the above post and took a look myself and absolutely agree with Liz as I am a nurse myself and know that the medication she suggested is only available on prescription and is a short acting drug whether or not you have taken any before. The following came up as a precaution and I have cut and pasted it here for everyone's information<BR>................................... .....<BR>Does melatonin have side effects?<BR><BR>Some people who have taken melatonin have reported sleepiness, headache, a "heavy-head" feeling, stomach discomfort, depression or feeling hungover. Further study is needed to find out more about melatonin's side effects, especially delayed or long-term effects. For example, we don't know if melatonin causes problems when taken with other medicines. We also don't know how melatonin may affect diseases. <BR>........................................<BR><B R>If you are going to take ANY medication then a chat with a travel doctor is your best bet.<BR>

I wasn't suggesting that Jules take melatonin. If you read her previous post, she was asking where she can get melatonin, when is she supposed to take it and I simply answered her question. Whether she takes it or not is up to her. I, on the other hand, thought that you were suggesting to her to use a tranquilizer to sleep during a flight which I thought was an extreme measure to get some sleep. The bottom line is Jules, if you're planning to take any sleep-inducing medicine, talk with your health care provider. And to the previous thread, are you saying that you need prescription for melatonin because you do not. Maybe you should brush up on your pharmacology.

Wow. OK, well, it sounds like the use of melatonin (and short acting tranquilizers) is quite controversial....So far, it seems as though the best bet is sleep and H2O hydration, but here's another question for you. Have any of you heard of/or used a product (I know you can buy it online through a traveller's supply type store - Magellen's) called No-Jet-Lag.?!? it's supposedly safe for all ages, non-reactive with other medications and homeopathic (which could be sketchy). Anyway, just wondering if anyone has tried it? You can check it out online (through Magellen's online) at: http://www.magellans.com/shopping/pr...iProductID=748 <BR>Magellen's provides links to articles about it, but you never can tell...<BR><BR>Thanks everybody, hope you all have a great Friday (or weekend depending on where you're reading this from)!

I've been taking Melatonin for about 6 years and love it. I can't even take a contact and operate a tractor (rimshot)! Seriously, I have a low drug tolerance, but it works for me. I board my Qantas flight, wait until meal service, pop 2 Melatonin with water, have my meal, glass of wine and by the end of the meal, I'm sleepy. My last OZ flight I slept 5 hrs and my husband slept 8. That said, like any medication, I recommend that you take it BEFORE your trip to make sure you don't have any weird side effects. <BR><BR>Melodie

I have used the No Jet Lag pills several times in combination with drinking lots of water (8 oz. for every hour in flight) and no alcohol on the flights and my last 3 overseas trips have been relatively jet-lag free. Of course it always takes a few days for your body to adjust but I think the No Jet Lag plus the hydration takes the "edge" off that completely wiped out feeling.

travelbug,<BR><BR>thanks for the reply! you're the only person i've heard from who's ever used No Jet Lag - and i'm glad you've had positive results - it sounds as though it's all natural (whatever that means) but doesn't give some of the negative side effects of mealtonin that ahev been reported. anywho - i'll look into it! glad to know it worked for you!