We are flying from Calif. to Rome, with two connections leaving at 6:30pm and arriving Rome @ 9pm the next day. Any suggestions how we might avoid that miserable jet lag?

I simply exhaust myself before leaving. Normally, it is because I am packing my million pounds of junk (you don't need to do that part) up till the last minute. I take two Benadryl for the allergies I suffer and for a good night sleep the moment I get on the plane. As soon as dinner is over, I crash with my ear plugs in and eye mask on. When I arrive, I keep on the move as long as possible then go to bed. My thought is that since you arrive at 9 p.m., you might do well to go to bed and have an alarm clock set so that you don't sleep the next day away. I'd avoid bus tours that might coax you back into sleep on your first day. Do something you find exciting during the day so you don't have to fight the head bobs and then have an early night to bed and start out fresh again the next morning.

There are some products at the pharmacy, but I don't know if they are beneficial.

Being exhausted my first day in Prague last month did nothing to help jet lag. I left the west coast at noon, arrived in Prague about 3:30PM local time there. Stayed up until about 10PM, slept very well that night, however the next night after a long day of walking (and no naps), I went to be about 11:30, very tired...and promptly woke up at 1AM, wide awake! I didn't get back to sleep until 5AM. Next few nights gradually got better though I still woke up for a bid in the middle of the night.

I guess my advice about jet lag (besides staying up all day until local bedtime and being active during the days) is: just accept it. You'll just have some unpleasantness for the first few days. So what?

I don't like taking any sort of medication if I can avoid it. I would try to get a lot of sleep BEFORE your trip, so that you can tolerate lack of sleep for a few nights after. You'll be exhausted from that overnight trip to Europe no matter what you do and will probably sleep that first night, maybe not as well for a few nights after.

Andrew

We fly from Seattle, so I know the feeling only twoo well.

A few things have helped, but I'm not so sure you can still do some of them.

One is to fly into either Amsterdam, Paris, or London and spend the first few days there and then on to the next destination...and last trip we even spent a night in Amsterdam before flying back to Seattle.

Another is to take No Jet Lag. It seems to help. You can get it at a healthfood store.

Another is to sleep on the plane. For this I take 5 mg. Ambien, DH takes Thazadon (sp?), but I'd suggest trying the stuff out before taking it on a flight. Everyone reacts differently. You need a Rx for either.

Hope this helps.

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I've found that a sauna and massage do the trick for my husband and I. I always find a convienient spa via the web or get help from my hotel and book appointments for late afternoon on arrival day. I find it relaxes yet energizes us. Then we have a fairly early dinner (7:30 or 8:00) and bed by 10:30 or so. Wake up the next morning rested with a reset "clock" and no jet lag at all.

We just got back from a 2 week trip to Europe. Left Phoenix at 11 a.m. arrived Munich the next morning at 8 a.m. I tried sleeping on the plane but the real deep sleep was impossible. The entire first day was O.K. but by 8 p.m. I was falling down tired. I went to bed and woke up at 2:30 a.m. Couldn't go back to sleep. That went on for 4 days gradually adjusting to a normal sleep night. But coming home I had the same sleep problem. Up at 2:30 with no sleep ability. I faught naps during the day so I would finally sleep all night. I don't think anything can help jet lag if you are suceptible to it. It's jsut part of traveling back in time!

I have one word for you--AMBIEN!!!
It only stays in your system for 4 hours, so when you wake up you don't have that awful groggy feeling. Take it when you wake up at 3 in the morning and you're WIDE awake. It also works great on the overnight red-eye.
Ask your doctor for a prescription!

Melatonin works for me. I use it on the plane to get some rest - not a real deep sleep but more of a fugue state.
I then stay up all day the first day and take it before bed for the first 2-3 nights. For me it helps prevent that staring at the ceiling experience at 3.30am.

It is very important not to take a nap when you first arrive but keep going.

For some of us Ambien, No Jet Lag, anmd all those other things do NOT work. I am unable to sleep sitting up on a plane, period.

I find trying to stay awake as long as possible upon arrival is helpful and that's about it. Drinking lots of water on the way over (we take large bought water bottles which we freeze so the water is chilled for the entire trip over) and avoid alcohol seems to help some folks.

Be aware that some folks get it coming back, too!

hi jeanprouty, agree with all about keeping with local time as much as poss when you get there. I bought one of the horseshoe-shaped pillows and it help me sleep on the plane without my head knocking around. For coming back, if poss get home as close to local evening hours as you can to get back into the normal time. I'm always loopy for a week coming back but less so when not sleep-deprived. Good luck!

This has always done the trick for me. Drink lots of water on the plane and when you first arrive. Schedule a 1 hour nap time for the next day (or few days if you're really tired). They really help.

I cannot sleep on a plane. My doctor said some people simply cannot sleep sitting up. So there's no helping that part for me.

I do get a prescription from my doctor for a sleep aid. I take it the first few nights after arrival in Europe to help get me on their time and allow me to stay asleep thru the night.

I also take short afternoon naps when I feel the need. Usually this doesn't happen until a couple days into my trip.

If you are arriving at 9pm at night, you want to be ready to go to bed when you get there. For this reason, I recommend sleeping late the day you leave, and stay awake the entire trip over there. You may pass out, but do your best to stay awake. Watch all the movies. When you land, you'll be ready for bed. I would recommend taking a sleeping tablet that night in case you can't sleep. I take 1/2 an Ambien tablet and it works great. Get up the next morning at the regular time. Do not sleep in.

I can't sleep well on a plane either. Luckily you're arriving in Rome at 9 pm, so just make sure you're sleepy enough to go to bed not that long after you arrive. Go easy on the coffee on that last leg.

One thing that helps me a lot is purely a psychological thing: I change my watch to the time at my final destination immediately after I get on the plane. (In your case, probably the transatlantic leg is best for this so you won't be confused on time and miss a connection!). Then I start "thinking" in that time, which gets my mind prepared to do certain things at their proper times.

I take Dramamine on the plane (not the nondrowsy) because I get motion sick, and that does help me take at least a little nap.

I have around 12 international business trips a year. My tried and true methods:

1. Get a full 8 hours a sleep the night before. It makes no sense to exhaust yourself before you get on a plane unless you are either: 1) in first class with a fully flat bed or 2) a freak that gets true deep sleep on a plane. 2 nights short on sleep is worse than 1.

2.If seated in business class or better, I take a Sonata sleeping pill after dinner. A sleeping pill in a coach seat is pure misery.

3. Drink a lot of water the day before your flight and as much as is comfortable while on the plane.

4. AM arrivals - If on vacation, take a nap upon arrival - two hours if possible. Then go for a run and shower. This makes all the difference in really enjoying the day. I find that I adjust the first day with the nap and exercise. If on business, suck it up, go to your meetings, if lucky enough not to have a business dinner, go to sleep upon reaching the hotel, when you wake up at 1am, take a sleeping pill and awake the next day wonderfully refreshed from more sleep than you usally get

5. Evening arrivals, go for a run, shower, and go to sleep with a sleeping pill on the nightstand in case you wake up during the night. Even if I wake up at 3 or 4 am, I still take the sleeping pill. I would rather sleep late the next day than spend my first day tired and grumpy.

6. Last, try to eat and exersize the same you would at home. If you eat fruit and yogurt for breakfast, don't go overboard with bacon and eggs. If you run 30 minutes in the morning, try to fit it in to your trip. Most business hotels have running maps and the tourist class hotels can usually direct you to a park - great way to see the area too.

For some strange reasion, I find travel to Asia easy - Almost no impact on my body. When I travel to Europe, I usally have no appetite and struggle a bit more with sleep.

We are arriving in Amsterdam at 7am from Chicago with a connecting flight to Rome. I opted to spend the day in Amsterdam (never having been there) and leave in the evening for Rome. We'll probably arrive at our hotel at 10:30pm. Our luggage will go straight through. Am I crazy?

Not crazy - Amsterdam is an easy train to and from the airport. Just get a good nights rest before the flight.