Jet lag

[Biffer]

Anyone got any tips apart from drinking heavily?

[Torquemada 1420]

Anyone got any tips apart from drinking heavily?

Fly faster.

[redderneck]

Force yourself into the routine of local hours on arrival - earlier in fact: adopt arrival hours when you step onboard the plane. Even if your body is screaming otherwise. Avoid/minimise booze 24 hours either side of flight and during. Easier advice if the long journey is followed by a reasonably long stay at destination. If you're in and out for business and the like; then shit out of luck. It's horrible. Hydrate.

Hydrate some more. Only surefire way I know to avoid it is not to travel.

[tcc_dc]

Like redder said...avoid alcohol. Honestly, drink as much water as you can on long flights it will really help.

Also, it depends on which class you are flying on how I approach the flight.

If lucky enough to fly business class then I start adjusting to local time asap. For example, I am flying from DC to Croatia this Wednesday. So tomorrow I will be up at 4am and work out. Then Tuesday, 3am, and Wednesday 2am for my 530pm flight...will get 5-7 hours sleep on the flight.

And even if I do not sleep well, like redder said, you have to stay awake that first day. Sure you might crash early that first night, but makes the rest of the trip more enjoyable as you are experiencing the full day instead of just the nightlife.

[fishfoodie]

Like redder said...avoid alcohol. Honestly, drink as much water as you can on long flights it will really help.

Also, it depends on which class you are flying on how I approach the flight.

If lucky enough to fly business class then I start adjusting to local time asap. For example, I am flying from DC to Croatia this Wednesday. So tomorrow I will be up at 4am and work out. Then Tuesday, 3am, and Wednesday 2am for my 530pm flight...will get 5-7 hours sleep on the flight.

And even if I do not sleep well, like redder said, you have to stay awake that first day. Sure you might crash early that first night, but makes the rest of the trip more enjoyable as you are experiencing the full day instead of just the nightlife.

+1 on avoiding alcohol; but there is a clever hack to get the same result, and avoid the dehydration !

Most of us have a non-prescription medication, that when we take it, we end up sleeping like a baby for 10 hours, & wake up feeling wonderful; for a lot, it's Nyquil, & other cold & flu medications.

Personally, if I take one of those medicines, that stop a runny nose, I'm usually dead to the world for 8 hours; so if I'm going to the US west coast, or coming back, that's my go to.

[bumblingbaf]

Like redder said...avoid alcohol. Honestly, drink as much water as you can on long flights it will really help.

Also, it depends on which class you are flying on how I approach the flight.

If lucky enough to fly business class then I start adjusting to local time asap. For example, I am flying from DC to Croatia this Wednesday. So tomorrow I will be up at 4am and work out. Then Tuesday, 3am, and Wednesday 2am for my 530pm flight...will get 5-7 hours sleep on the flight.

And even if I do not sleep well, like redder said, you have to stay awake that first day. Sure you might crash early that first night, but makes the rest of the trip more enjoyable as you are experiencing the full day instead of just the nightlife.

As said before, I definitely recommend drinking a lot of water and avoiding alcohol. I also take 5HTP tablets as this help you produce more Melatonin thereby increasing your chances of sleeping.

Finally, if I only get a little sleep on West-East so you land in the morning knackered try and switch your mind over to the local time. Take a deep breath, enjoy the morning air and get ready for the day ahead. The more you can force yourself to think like it's a normal day the more likely your body will also switch over to the local time. Then go to bed at a time you normally would, still no alcohol in the evening, no matter how tired. This has helped me on many business trips when I've needed to be switched on from the first day of landing and going into a meeting.

[GogLais]

Only done long haul a couple of times. Last time I hardly slept on the overnight flight home. Still felt alright and drove a couple of miles to the local Tesco in the morning. Fell asleep while driving home. As good a reason as any to stick to Europe imo.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

What has worked for me :

East to West - put in an effort to stay up late when you arrive. Visiting friends in Colorado I normally make it to about 9pm before crashing on the first night.

West to East - you arrive back UK morning typically, stay up till lunchtime, go to bed for a maximum of 2 hours. Stay up and go to bed at normal time.

Melatonin seems to help a little.

[PCPhil]

As advised above, stay awake to line up with hours where you travel to as much as possible. Done this a number of times. Cold water in the face at regular intervals helps. Get a good night's sleep from late in the evening and the next day you feel like you haven't travelled anywhere.

[redderneck]

If you really want to feel like you've travelled nowhere, bring the Mrs with you.