Jet Lag

[stewart38]

Im not one that usually expereinces 'Jet lag' but seem to have it after just coming back from the USA. 8hr time difference

First question why is it worse going West to East ?

Second question whats the best cure for it apart from sleep

Someone said you should go to bed at a usual time when you get back , someone else said sleep as much as you want

Its been 48hrs now and i feel more tired then any weekender ive ever been to must be getting old

[martingold]

i always set my watch to the destination time as soon as i board the plane
secondly i make sure i don't dehydrate during the flight by drinking plenty of water
do whatever you can to get back into your normal routine as soon as possible

[Agente Secreto]

Originally Posted by stewart38

First question why is it worse going West to East ?

Because you're flying to a time zone ahead of you and 'losing' time. A bit like a bad case of putting the clock forward by 8 hours in this case!

Originally Posted by stewart38

Second question whats the best cure for it apart from sleep.

I get as much sleep as I can on the aircraft on the way back. I'll even make sure that on the morning I'm coming back I get up extra early so I'm tired out by the time I got to my seat. When I get back I have a cat nap for a couple of hours then try and get back to normal schedule even if I'm tired. Sometimes it works better than others

I cured the jet lag one day by just not sleeping until I dropped. It was the weekend of one of the Southports, I flew into Heathrow at 10:00 from the US, went home and dropped off one suitcase them picked up my wife and another suitcase then drove to Southport. Got in and went straight to the Blues Room and danced until 7:00 am the following day then went to bed for 3 hours and got up again at 10:00 for a class. I think my body was so confused it just got back to normal time!

Originally Posted by stewart38

Its been 48hrs now and i feel more tired then any weekender ive ever been to must be getting old

No arguing with the ravages of age

[Tessalicious]

If you're someone who travels to the US a lot, pick up some Melatonin while you're there. It's available over the counter (whereas you can't even get it on prescription in this country) and is supposed to be very useful as a treatment for jet lag (as well as for other body-clock or sleep-related disorders Melatonin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

[Katie Kicks Ass]

Originally Posted by Tessalicious

If you're someone who travels to the US a lot, pick up some Melatonin while you're there. It's available over the counter (whereas you can't even get it on prescription in this country) and is supposed to be very useful as a treatment for jet lag (as well as for other body-clock or sleep-related disorders Melatonin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Isn't that what you get from sunlight?

I'd just try to get back into your normal routine and force yourself to stay awake and get up when you normally would.

[Tessalicious]

Originally Posted by Katie Kicks Ass

Isn't that what you get from sunlight?

That's melanin, which as far as I know is an unrelated substance except that both are synthesized by your body.

I'd just try to get back into your normal routine and force yourself to stay awake and get up when you normally would.

Sure, that's always the healthiest way to do it, but if you travel a lot for short periods of time then sometimes you're only just recovering from the last trip when you're off on the next (so I'm told ).

[Twirly]

Originally Posted by Katie Kicks Ass

Isn't that what you get from sunlight?

I'd just try to get back into your normal routine and force yourself to stay awake and get up when you normally would.

Originally Posted by Tessalicious

That's melanin, which as far as I know is an unrelated substance except that both are synthesized by your body.
Sure, that's always the healthiest way to do it, but if you travel a lot for short periods of time then sometimes you're only just recovering from the last trip when you're off on the next (so I'm told ).

Melanin is the pigmentation in the skin, and the amount present is increased by sunlight.

Melatonin is influences sleep patterns. We produce it when not exposed to daylight and it causes us to become sleepy.

I’m afraid Stewart that the best way to combat your jet lag is to force your body back into the normal rhythms for the time zone you’re in, even if it means staying up when you’re tired. It’s the one advantage of being an insomniac – I’ve never suffered from jet lag!

[cerocmetro]

Never stop travelling, works for me, No idea where when or who I am. I have no idea if I am jet lagged so it must work. OK off to bed now must have some breakfast first.

[JennyC]

My tips; as well as the ones below are, to try and book a night flight - I always find it easier to sleep on the plane when the lights are down and most other people are trying to sleep.

Also another over the counter drug in the US is Tylenol PM - which I find really helps to get good sleep on the flight.

They say that it takes a day for every hour of time difference to get your body clock sorted after a flight and I would generally agree.

I find that pushing yourself into your usual routine does help, particularly dancing in the evenings as it makes you physically tired and therefore more likely to be able to sleep!

[geoff332]

The only "cure" I know to jetlag is activity. You need to be active in the normal time for the place you are and then try and sleep at night. This isn't a panacea, but it is the only things that has genuinely helped me. I can normally fly in to the US on a Sunday, turn up at work at 9am on Monday, do a week's work, fly back to the UK and be back at work on 9am on the following Monday. I am exhausted, but I can remain functional (when doing round the world trips, it's a bit harder... but I've done Auckland to Toronto a few times without really skipping a beat ... trip before last back to Auckland I landed at 6am and turned up at work at 10am).

I do notice jetlag is usually worst on day 3. Day 1, you've arrived and feel blah anyway. You usually sleep well that night. Day 2, you are OK, but crash early. Then you wake at some stupid time (or can't get to sleep) and on day 3, you're back to exhausted. Everything I've tried - natural therapies, drugs, behaviour patterns ... none of them work particularly well.

The only other tips I can suggest are to be smart with your travelling. Don't drink alcohol on the plane (or at least don't drink much). Try and sleep at the "right" time for your destination. Kill any small children so they don't wake you. Drink a lot of water. Get up and walk around the plane a few times.

[Mezzosoprano]

I have a trip to Brisbane nearly every year to two years - I fell asleep in the middle of my mother in law's Birthday party one year. Face in the plate of cake... not a shining moment... but I digress.

I've found that what works for me is to set my watch to destination time when I get on the plane.... and try and keep to what you'd be doing normally at that time.... I never manage to do this down to the hour but it helps at the other end. The next thing is, as has already been said, drink plenty water and lay off the alcohol - you just get dehydrated. Thirdly, when you get off the plane, try and stick to local time, so, if its 0730 hrs at arrival, have your breakfast and try and go about a normal day - if it's 2200 hrs, go to bed. Even if you either have to have a nap in the middle of the day or are awake part of the night, it helps get you on track faster. Oh! and if you are going to have a nap in the middle of the day, set your alarm clock to wake you up in an hour or you'll do what I did the first time I travelled that far - fall asleep and wake up full of enegy at 3am in the morning - it took ages for me to get over the jet lag the first time....

Mezzo X

ps - I try not to advocate the murder of small children 'cos sometimes it's mine keeping everyone awake