My teenage daughter and I are going to London in a few months. We are leaving on an evening flight and will arrive at around 6 a.m. London time. It's been some years since I've traveled overseas, and I need to be reminded on what to do to avoid jet lag. It seems I've heard some things about what and what not to eat, when and when not to try to sleep--but I'm not sure what to believe. <BR> <BR>Does anyone have any practical advice? <BR> <BR>Thanks! <BR>

Frankly, I do not think anything works. I can fly West, and be just fine, but going East is another story. We just flew to Sydney, and slept like a baby, the first night. On the other hand, coming back, it took about three nights to adjust. When we fly to Europe it is the same problem, and coming back, just fine. Wish there were a solution, but frankly, it is just the body clock. We found just getting up, even if the time was not normal, was better than lying in bed trying to get back to sleep.

This works for us: <BR>1. On the plane, try to get some sleep (naturally). Drink lots of water, and no alcohol or caffeine. <BR>2. After you land, go to your hotel, leave your bags (assuming your room isn't ready) and go out for a walk. <BR>3. Come back around noon or early afternoon, take a shower and a brief rest in bed (not sleep)for about an hour or so. <BR>4. Get up, dress and go out again and have dinner and then go to be the "normal" time in your new time zone. <BR>5. We were fine the next morning!

Melatonin works very well.You cannot buy <BR>it in the UK - I've seen it in blisterpack in US airports. <BR>Take it exactly 24 hrs before your first UK bedtime.Take it in the dark if possible, if on a plane close the curtain & cover <BR>your forehead. <BR> It may make you feel drowsy, you may even sleep.No matter, your bodyclock is now reset.You will want to sleep again 24 hours later.Some take it again on their 1st night in the East. <BR> Without it I am a mumbling ruin for 3 days after flying East.(west is OK) <BR> With it I feel fine. <BR>Do not be fooled into buying herbal remedies called eg: "nojetlag" they are just chamomile etc to make you drowsy, they don't reset the clock.

Penny, <BR>6 a.m. arrival ... that's horrible! We usually arrange our arrivals for later in the day, noon works well, which really does help the jet lag factor. But since you will be there at 6 a.m. I'd suggest stashing the bags at the hotel as others say (no hotel will allow check in that early, you will be lucky to get in by noon unless you pay for an extra night, which I'd consider if I were arriving that early.) Anyway, leave the bags (but not your valuables), go have breakfast and walk around some. After check in, shower & short nap .. short nap only, if you sleep too long you will be suffer jet lag longer. Go back outside and walk around, do some non-strenuous sightseeing, perhaps hop on a bus - remember you may not feel tired but it will catch up with you if you don't watch it! Have an early dinner and get to bed early. You may wake up a bit earlier than normal the next a.m. but you won't suffer jet lag! If you can't sleep on the plane (excitement can kick in) you might try a Tylenol P.M. - there is no real great way to avoid jet lag, but you can minimize it with a bit of planning. Just don't do anything that takes a lot of concentration or heavy duty thinking that first day!! Being outdoors helps reset your internal clock tho.

I think this subject gets aired every year about this time as people start making plans for long flights. I have found that there are as many suggestions as there are posters. Everybody has a cure. <BR>In my experience, the best thing to do is get out in the sunlight after arrival. Scientific research as Cornell University has shown that light on the skin helps reset the body's internal clock. <BR>Nothing, however, can make up for sleep loss except sleep. <BR>I have found from personal experience that going to Europe on an overnight flight is easier to recover from than coming back from Europe to Atlanta. <BR>I cannot explain it because a flight to the west coast from the east is usually easy to do. But the last three trips I found that after getting home, I needed a week to quit waking up at 3AM ready to go. I finally started exercising in the late afternoon until I was very tired. That way I slept longer. <BR>The usual suggestions of no coffee ( because of the caffeine), no alcohol (because of the dehydrating effects) and staying hydrated during the flight are good ones. I also carry a little bottle of saline nasal spray to keep the breathing passages hydrated because the air inside a jet liner becomes very dry by the end of the flight. And I usually have a small bottle of water in my hand luggage. (I have yet to see a drinking fountain in European airports.) <BR>Perhaps the best tactic is to start adjusting your sleeping patterns to be closer to the hours you will be keeping at your destination. But that is a luxury of time management that most of us simply do not have. Even in retirement, I don't have that degree of freedom. <BR>One other suggestion I have is this: Plan your return flight so that you do not have tight connections at major airports. Flights in Europe are often delayed because of crowded skies, even in good weather. Optimally, on your going home journey, plan so that you have no change of planes. But that is not always feasible. <BR>The stress of rushing in a strange airport to make a tight connection is not good. Last year we thought we were in good shape leaving Zurich for Paris - CDG for our flight home to Atlanta. But the flight from Zurich sat on the ramp with the engines on for over 40 minutes before take off, and it was over an hour late by the time it landed. What had been 95 minutes of connect time had shrunk to 25. So we were struggling to change buildings at CDG with no assistance from anyone. Had our flight home not been delayed, we would have been left at the gate. Coupled with getting up about 6 AM to prepare for driving to Zurich for the flight to Paris, we put in a long day - 24 hours before we got to our house around midnight EDT. At 27 I could handle it, but not 67.

We travel regularly from west coast to London. Here's what works for us. <BR>Eat lightly, drink as much water as you can. Forget the movie, and as soon as you take off, take a sleeping pill, or meletonin, if it works for you. Eat a light meal when served, adjust sleeping pillow, blanket and pull blinds. Then sleep as much as possible. If in coach, get a couple seats alone, if possible and get feet up. Put eye mask on, and ear plugs in. Make sure stewardess cann see that you have your seat belt fastened in case of turbulance so she won't wake you. Upon arrival, take a 1 hour nap as soon as possible, set the alarm, then go out and about until early evening. Then retire London time and each day will become easier. This works for us.

The above suggestions cover the gamut of useful strategies for minimizing jet lag symptoms. From a medical standpoint, however, I must comment on the melatonin recommendations. <BR>There have been several good, controlled studies in the past 10 years documenting the effectiveness of melatonin (though its effectiveness varies greatly from person to person, it works better than placebos on balance). The problem is, there is no consensus on optimal dose, best timing, number of days of use, etc. Most people use it one to two days prior to travel, taken at evening in hometown, and desired bedtime first night at destination. No consistent evidence that this is better than once at departure, etc. <BR>I believe it may help, but since I practice the other strategies as well, it's impossible to know where to give the credit.

I have only found this forum last week and I think I'm becoming hooked...is there a cure? Anyway....my question is.. We will be travelling from Australia to Amsterdam..I am hopeless at geography are we going east or west in relation to the jetlag issue?

I don't know a cure for jet lag, but I've sure tried a number of things. I've found the best results by, as others have posted, taking a nap the afternoon of arrival and then going to bed at my regular time. But I thought you might get a laugh from the following. Years ago I read in a popular magazine (something like Time; can't recall the exact mag, but it was a well-respected one) that someone had discovered a strange but actually effective way to combat jet lag. It involved cutting shoe inserts from a brown paper bag, sticking them in your shoes before leaving home, and keeping them there when you get overseas. Well, I was desperate and tried it. Curiously enough, the first 3 days I was overseas, I felt great. I couldn't believe it. Then I took the inserts out of my shoes because they were pretty beat up. The next day I felt like someone had beaten ME up, the jet lag was so bad. Now obviously, there was something psychological going on here; but who know? If I'd kept the inserts in my shoes, even down to the tatters, I may have been okay. Nonetheless, I opted for the nap trick next time I traveled, it worked pretty well, so I've stuck to that. <BR>Wish I could help with the question about Australia. I've no idea, but you cross the dateline, so ?????

Gayle, <BR>I would think you are flying west to Europe from Australia -- welcome to this Forum by the way, there are many great regulars out here that love to help, pass on hints and just in general enjoy travel. I know I've "talked" to you already about the London Eye and your long trip to Europe sounds wonderful, do post a report of the highlights (and lowlights if you have them too), as first hand info is so very important to most of us.

I like the insole story - long journeys are definitely NOT the times to experiment with feet. Old shoes, inserts, insoles, etc. should be kept intact... <BR> <BR>For me, taking any sort of nap or lie-down is the kiss of death; even half an hour, and I'm all messed up. I opt for the do-stuff-til-you-drop method; leave the bags at the hotel, find something to eat (light breakfasty stuff), then a museum (i.e. the Marmottan vs the Louvre), light lunch, then the boat/bus type thing (thank heavens for these little treats; perfect for getting a look at the city, rest weary feet, and not stress out the jet-lagged); early dinner; Tylenol-PM (or the like) and bed about 8. <BR> <BR>On the plane, Julie's got it nailed. We also order either vegetarian meals or fruit plates (if you're asleep when the meal is delivered, it'll keep 'til you wake up much better than the chicken thing), have a glass of wine (we normally drink wine with dinner, so it would seem odd not to have it), then ask for a cup of hot water for *melatonin tea*. It's an herb tea with melatonin; don't know whether it's that or the warm water or the chamomile, but we sleep like babies 'til breakfast is served. <BR> <BR>We keep either zinc or vitamin C lozenges to suck on; they ward off dry throat and, supposedly, colds.

Am I the only one who was trouble flying East to West, instead of the other way around? Going to Europe, I am pretty much fine on arrival, go all day and get a good night's sleep the first night and I am good to go. Coming home it is always a solid 2 weeks for me to get completely back on track and not be up at 1-2 AM ready to go to work!

Kelly - I'm with you. Going to Europe I'm great, but coming home to the US is really hard. I'm toast for at least a week. I do think that arriving in the early part of the day helps. I try to take a shower as soon as I can get into the room, then go play as until dark. Getting to bed at a decent hour and waking up without an alarm or wakeup call helps, too. It's so important to drink lots of water during the flight, even mild dehydration makes you feel sluggish. Penny, I hope you and your daughter have a great time!

Me too!!! Kelly and Audrey. When I went To Budapest Hungary last year in March, I did everything that my Doctor told me to do, both ways. She goes to Poland every year. I did great going there. But boy oh boy coming home was a doozy!! It took me at least two weeks to back to my old self. It was terrible. I don't get it.