When I went to london from the U.S. I didn't have any jet lag-I was too excited! We arrived at 8:00 and dropped off our luggage at the hotel...went to Harrods and Hyde Park and paid for our lounge chairs-had lunch...back to the hotel..unpacked...checked the place out..and off we went till midnight. Up at nine the next morning and we never stopped going. We also had martini"s before we left at the airport. We did sleep on the plane for about 4 hours. I do agree with the other poster-coming home is a different story-I could have slept for a week!

I hardly ever get a wink of sleep on an overnight flight, but then I can't sleep on trains or in cars, either. It's the type-A personality in me that thinks I'll be the one to spot that airplane approaching on a collision course with our left wing.

I read, watch movies, eat dinner, and then do a real fake sleep thing for a couple of hours, but in actuality never really fade out. By breakfast time, when all the real sleepers are still conked out, I'm in the aisles doing exercises, drinking lots of water, and heading to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and freshen my makeup.

When I get to France, which is usually where I'm going, I have a 6-hour journey ahead of me. I get in a taxi and go to the train station in Paris, catch a 5-hour train, then get in a car and drive 45 minutes to my house. Usually, by about 2 in the afternoon France time I'm a bit of a mess, but I'm on a train and can close my eyes. Still, I never fall asleep. There's something about being back in Europe again that is invigorating and keeps me awake. I usually last until about 10 pm the first night, fall dead asleep, then am fine from the next morning on.

Coming back is the big problem for me. It can take me 7 days to adjust after a 2-week-long trip. Part of it is that, on the way over, adrenaline keeps me going and on the way back I'm just fatigued and don't have a whole lot to look forward to except piles of mail and cleaning off my desk at work.

I honestly think a lot of jet lag is mental.

"Nojetlag" pills worked for me for a few years..but the last few trips they didn't help. Will try again when i go to italy end of May. They can be found in most major airports at about $12.

My solution when going from the USA to Europe is to get as much sunlight and fresh air as possible the first day. I try to avoid taking a nap, and I go out for a walk as soon as I've checked into the hotel. I try to have a light supper at around the time when i expect to have supper during the rest of the trip, and I force myself to stay up until a fairly normal bedtime. This seems to work pretty well. I usally feel almost normal the first full day in Europe, and completely adjusted by the second day.

For those of us who do this once a week for work I offer the following: do not drink any alcohol on the flight;try to shut your eyes for awhile on the flight even if you do not sleep;make sure that you drink a full large bottle of water before you hit your hotel AND when you arrive in your destination-grab a snack,take a shower and then take a mandatory nap for 3 hours. When the alarm goes off and you feel like you have the flu-get up and open the curtains,get dressed and get out of your hotel. You will be good to go for most of the evening. Isn't international traveling fun???

We also do this fairly often. Normally we leave NA at night and arrive in Europe in the morning-8ish. We stay up late the night before so that we are ready to sleep during the flight. We may have one glass of wine but mostly water, tea and we decline the food/coffee. On arrival, we get to the hotel, shower, and then go out for coffee followed by a long walk. We do not sleep until the evening of our arrival.
Next day we are fine. Seems to be hell travelling back though and I do not have a recipe for this. I think that everyone's biological clock is different though.

Strongly agreeing that everyone's different... If you can sleep on the plane, do so! (I can't even with the help of prescriptions & alcohol or not.) My solution is living thru the flight, then taking a few days in a city solo when I 1st arrive and giving in to my body clock (nap when I want, eat and drink when I want). I had the luxury to do this on my last trip and I arrived at my "destination" 5 days later well rested and ready for my 2 week stay with friend in Europe.

I read somewhere that having flashlights shine on one's knees thoughout the flight reduced the effects of jet lag by 80%. I've never tryed it, partially because I wouldn't want everyone staring at me.

Jack, I think it has to be the back of your knee - not sure if the light can go through clothing or not.

My guidelines for avoiding jetlag on long flights (standard from my neck of the woods is 23-25 hours with - only if I'm lucky - an overnight in between):
1. Accept every alcoholic drink offered you during the first half of the flight;
2. If not enough alcohol is on offer, ask for it;
3. Every hour or so, get up, walk round the plane for a while, do toe-stands while gazing around innocently hoping that no-one is noticing;
4. When you've drunk the plane dry, doze off, trying not to snore/dribble/ puff/or make other unseemly noises;
4. Upon awakening, drink water - lots of it - and keep on doing so frequently for the rest of the flight;
5. Get up and do more walking and surreptitious toe-stands now and then;
6. On arrival at your destination, slip immediately into the new timezone for meals and sleeping. (The adrenalin rush associated with travel makes this easy).
These guidelines have never failed for me!

I get pretty bad jet lag but on our last trip to Italy from SFO(14 hours), I did manage to feel a little better.
I found the secret was to take a late afternoon evening flight and hydrate like crazy. I had discussed the pros and cons of zanex vs ambien with my doc and the vote was for a short acting light tranquilizer. It worked like a charm.I admit once we hit our hotel room in Rome, I did sleep for two hours. But then woke, took a bath and hit the area around the Spanish Steps by 10 pm for diner.
I am always far less effected on return. Who knows!