Melatonin & Jet Lag
 

I have the maps. I have the shoes. I have the long underwear. But, I emplore you! I had to harken back to advanced calculus to decypher one book's advice on time change, dark glasses, and when to take my melatonin. EEEk! What do you do? We'll be in Paris, then London for 4 days each; we don't want to sleep through it.

I: wear comfortable clothes on the plane; make sure I have blanket and pillow and get comfy as soon as I sit down; eat a light meal (try to get fruit plate or some sort of 'special' meal); drink lots of water and/or juice; drink a cup of melatonin tea after dinner and take a PM-type pill; put on an eyeshade and sometimes earplugs and get as much sleep as I can before landing (I try to sleep thru breakfast service). Once on the ground, I do things SLOWLY. I don't rush to get checked baggage (I usually don't check any anyway); don't fume while in the immigration line; get a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette; get aboard the transportation to town (whether public, taxi, hired car, rental car); don't fume at the traffic; check into the hotel if possible, or ask to leave my bag with the concierge until I can check in; head out for light sightseeing - leisurely walk, open bus tour, boat ride, stroll through a church or two; eat meals at current meal times, even if I'm hungry at my 'home' time; go to bed no later than 9:00pm after having a cup of melatonin tea and a PM pill. If I wake up too early (like 3am) I stay in bed until 7ish (or whatever time I've decided to get up for my first full day); have a nice breakfast, and I am good to go. I never worry about light, dark, alcohol, etc. For me, the keys are to get plenty of sleep, no nap the day I land, and avoid as much stress as possible (take things slow, don't get tense, have as much planned ahead as possible).

Thanks, elvira! Just the tone of your response makes me feel calm and sleepy. Husband and I are prepared to not get testy about less than perfect conditions (ie weather) so I'll heed your advice all around. Its usually very hard for me to sleep on planes, but I might be able to do it with PM drugs. THANKS THANKS THANKS. I can do this!

Jody- <BR>There was an in-depth discussion on what to take on long plane rides earlier this year. It was VERY informative, lots of discussion about melatonin vs. valerian vs. using nothing at all, and nurses,etc chimed in with suggestions as well. I would suggest you do a search. I'll try to do one as well and see if I can't find it because I really learned a lot before my trip to Paris in March.

Again, thanks for the info. Don't know why the search didn't give me what I needed the first time. This time it did... Plus I got a helluva laugh at the "scoring valium" thread after it. I spit all over my computer! It wasn't pretty. Very good info. Thanks all!

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they sell an herbal remedy for jetlag. I took it last year on the way to and from China and never encountered any problems with jet lag.

Here's an article on the value (the lack thereof, actually) of melatonin as a remedy for jet lag. <BR> <BR>http://www.healthcentral.com/news/ne...pe=ReutersNews