Jetlag....

[Violet_Crumble]

I'm flying from Sydney to London later this year, and this'll be the first time I've travelled somewhere where there's a big time difference. Does anyone have any tips on how to handle jetlag?

Violet...

[bettyellen]

1. getting some sleep on the plane

i don't sleep much the night before, and use valerian, some benedryl and whiskey, as well as earplugs and a good mask. even if it's a morning flight, i don't sleep or sleep maybbe 2 hours and get up and do this. i dress cozy in sweats and bring my own noshes and ask the stewardess please not to wake me up for anything at all (a window seat in the back helps- some airlines let you pre reserve a seat). i slept the whole way on my flight to hawaii and arrived ready to go. my friend stayed awake and was useless our first day there.
whatever you can do to get on their schedule in advance helps too.
but long plane rides are extremely boring and i figure the trade off is to sleep then or be sleepy when i get there, so i figure, it's always good to be more awake when you're there you know? if the planes not full, grab all the piloows and blankets you can and stake out a whole row in the back where you can stretch a bit. do not forget the earplugs, trust me on that one.

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. God, you're lucky.

I can sleep just about anywhere, but when it comes to planes, forget it. No matter how much I drink or what I take, I can never do more than doze.

I've seen too many plane disaster movies. It's constantly in my subconscious.

fsc

[babylonsister]

2. I fly US-Indonesia and back yearly. I carry

an over-the-counter sleeping pill and take when I think I need it. I never drink alcohol as it's dehydrating and I eventually feel like crap. I do drinks LOTS of water. I also walk around and stretch.
The worst direction is Indo back to the US, maybe because you're losing a day over the int'l date line.
RE: drinking, my husband never considers not having a few bloody marys so I guess it's an individual thing.
My only real solution is to have a day or two once you get to your destination to get into the new/different schedule. In other words, plan on allowing yourself time to sleep.

[ClintonTyree]

3. Be sure to get up and walk around as often as you can..........

or wear support hose (I know, it sounds dumb but it could prevent a stroke) called TEDS. Long flights without any or little movement of the legs has caused some to have strokes. It's important to move your legs and feet around, even if it's only while in your seat.
Just a little travel tip from your Uncle Tyree! ;)

[Skinner]

4. IMHO, the number one most important thing is this.

After you arrive at your destination DO NOT take any naps during the day. Been awake for 36 hours already? Too bad... do whatever you have to do to stay awake. You'll be tired as hell when it's time to go to bed, and you'll have a much better chance of sleeping *at night* when you are supposed to.

Some random thoughts:

I have heard that drinking lots of water on the flight helps fight jet lag.

I have also heard that sunlight has a powerful effect to help reset your body clock. Get outside during the day if you can.

On overseas travel (to Europe) in the last few years, I have been able to re-adjust my schedule in about a day. Usually the flight will be overnight, so I'll try to sleep on the plane -- but I rarely am able to sleep more than about one hour. Then when I arrive at my destination in the morning, I check into my hotel and then get the hell out of my hotel asap so I am not tempted to take a nap. Spend the entire first day outside sightseeing. And don't let myself under any circumstances go to bed before 10:00PM that night. Usually, I can sleep a full eight hours on the first night.

Of course, if you're going from Sydney to London then you are dealing with a much more serious time change than going from the US to Europe. Good luck.

[Maeve]

8. I concur--don't sleep till night where you land

Europe is easiest--arrange to arrive in the morning and keep going. Neither Hubby nor I had any problem after that first exhausting day.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Melatonin. It resets your internal clock.

My doctor recommended it to me for sleep and a friend who travels overseas a great deal uses it, says it helps a lot. I gave some to my mother the last time she visited Australia, since the time difference is so great, like what you're facing. Melatonin is a supplement that I can pick up at any pharmacy or health food store. My doctor told me that I could take up to 9mg, for sleep.:boring:

Have a great time in London, my friend! This is one of my favorite cities and you'll love it! So much history and so much to see and do, just a very vibrant place. But next time, you'll have to come to the US, despite the time difference! We have a lot to offer, as well! And we'll expect to hear all about your trip...:D

Rhiannon:hi:

[RC]

6. Finding an analog clock at the destination airport helps me.

The digital ones don't seem to do anything. And get outside while the sun is shining if possible. Even if it is setting. Looking through a window may not be good enough.

[Dead_Parrot]

9. I would suggest...

Get up as early as possible on the day of your flight, and try to catnap as much as possible while in the air: It'll be difficult but if you're tired when you get on you stand a fair chance. Hopefully they'll have really boring in flight movies to send you off... You'll be woken up anyway for the stopover, so you should be nicely half asleep for most of the flight. And as Skinner advised, go straight to local time when you arrive - if it's lunch time, have lunch and go for a long walk to get some fresh air and stay awake. Hit the sack around 9PM and you'll come up smilling in the morning...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. When fllying to Japan, I stay up all night before the flight and

nab a couple of hours of sleep on the plane, the equivalent of an afternoon nap.

When I arrive, it's generally around dinner time, so I go to my hotel and have dinner. Then I make sure to stay awake till about 10PM local time, as Skinner said. I wake up at about 6AM ready to go, and I make sure to walk around outside a lot on the first day.

The west-east direction is harder, but since I refuse to fly Northwest Airlines internationally (there are much better options), I usually have at least one stop before returning to Minneapolis. This means sitting up all day after my morning arrival in the States. By the time I get back to my apartment, it's usually close enough to bedtime that I can just collapse into bed.

In recent years, they've started keeping the planes dark all the way in order to accommodate the seatback LCD screens, but I find that this makes my jet lag worse. In the olden days, the cabin was kept light while flying east to west over the Pacific, so it just seemed like you were having a tremendously long afternoon. Now it becomes "night" at 3PM.

Usually the movies shown on planes aren't worth watching, so I try to get a window seat and annoy the flight attendants by opening my shade.

On my last trip to Japan, I got to see the vast emptiness of eastern Siberia, thanks to my lack of interest in third-rate movies.

[WolverineDG]

11. set your watch to london time

when you get on the plane bound for london. it's a little mental trick i've developed in my travels that seems to help. also, take some sort of sleep aid & knock yourself out for a few hours. until i flew to sydney a few years ago, i could never fall asleep on a plane. now i can conk out while we're still on the tarmac! ;)

if i can get into my hotel room, i like to unpack & take a shower, then go out & explore my new neighborhood. i also check to see what london walk is available that evening. (anything to get you out & about & you're usually home by 9, ready to crash into bed anyway, besides you might learn something along the way.) here's their website: http://www.walks.com/

dg

[lapislzi]

12. Homeopathic remedy: "No Jetlag"

My family and I flew from NY to Sydney last year. I bought a box of these little pills from a travel catalogue and followed the directions. Results: self and daughter took pills--little if any jetlag. We arrived early in the morning and spent a full day; just some fatigue in the evening. Husband: did not take pills. Suffered mightily. Crashed like a big tree immediately upon arrival. Same thing on the return trip.

Great little remedy. They contain melatonin and other herbal ingredients. I would recommend these to anyone. And enjoy Oz. It's a great place.

[Duncan Grant]

13. Is this it?

http://www.nojetlag.com/

I've taken these on a couple of trips to Europe and thought they provided noticeable relief. I think they work best for me when I fly coast to coast though. :thumbsup:

[FM Arouet666]

14. I agree with Skinner, damn yet again......

Absolutely do not sleep when you get to your destination. Traveling to China and Japan I fight like hell to stay awake. The flight can be 14+ hours, depending on connections, and the day night time cycle completely inverted. Also, move around the cabin and flex/extend your ankle, tightening you calf muscles on a routine basis. DVT, deep venous thrombosis, a clot in your leg vein can be painful and life threatening. I have seen a few patients recently with pulmonary embolisms after transatlantic flights, the condition occurs when a leg clot breaks off and goes to the lung. Can result in death if the clot is large.

Have fun in London, great city. I would love to see Sydney, but my wife is sick of travel and refused. I bargained for another Japan trip which is long flight, but not as long as Australia.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. I've got a 24 hr stop-over in Bangkok on the way...

..so that's probably going to confuse my bodyclock even more. They're only three hours behind us though, so maybe it won't be so much of a problem...

Thanks for the tip on moving round during the flight. I'm going to have to force myself to do that coz of my horrible fear of flying that keeps me glued to my seat during flights from Canberra to Sydney. I had a minor stroke a few years back due to a blood clot, so I'm kind of thinking I'm going to have to be really careful when flying that I do move around...

I hope you manage to see Sydney one day. I'm biased, what with it being where I was born, but it's a really fantastic city, and catching the ferry to Manly is a Must Do, especially the bit where it goes past the Heads...

Violet...

[Jean Louise Finch]

16. Another vote for staying up

Hi Violet!

You'll be fine if you make yourself stay up! I do the trip from Boston to Bangkok several times a year (I'm based in BKK), and I just stay up until bed time, sleep a full night, and then am good to go with only minor grogginess for a day or two. Whatever you do, make yourself stay up -- it's the only answer! I actually think the big time differences are a lot easier to deal with than the 6 or 8 hour ones. It takes so long to get where you're going that your body and brain are bedazzled and can do the stay up more easily. And then you just sleep the night away, and are ready for action come morning. No naps allowed! Also try and sleep on the plane -- I come equipped with an eye mask, ear plugs, melatonin and a bottle of water. And I never watch the movies or eat the wretched food! Just hop on, put on the eye mask and earplugs, suck down a melatonin, and be patient. You WILL fall asleep, I swear!

Bangkok stopovers are the best for jet lag curealls: get yourself a 2 hour *traditional* thai massage, and I guarantee you'll feel better. It gets the blood seriously flowing. PM me if you want any Bangkok recommendations!

I'm on my way to Brisbane next weekend -- which is just an 8 hour flight, and we get to fly through Singapore, the world's greatest airport. Totally bummed we only have three or four hours, though!

Have a safe trip!
Jean Louise