Coping with jetlag

I normally set my watch when we take off and have a few hours sleep onboard and I find that I'm normally OK.

Originally posted by BlackCat
Paul -- you linked to a site that sells melatonin, they are hardly going to tell you it doesn't work! Like I said, some people do swear by it, but most medical studies have concluded that benefits are marginal (if present at all) for jet lag.

BC

BC, that's not actually what your link says, as it in-fact quotes a Doctor ad a London Hospital condoning it's use as a Jet Lag remedy.
But rather than get into the symantecs and as I am not in the medical trade all I can tell you is that the extremely benefical for me.

I believe a lot of sleep issues are psychological and the thought of taking a 'sleep aid' will be enough for some people to get off to sleep avoiding Jet Lag issues.

FTR, I was unaware that this particular site I linked to sold the product, I was not aware of that site before today, I simply linked to it for informational purposes.

Paul

Mrs csparker's advice for avoiding trouble from jetlag, particulary on eastbound flights to London:

Make sure you and the little csparkers arrange to be out of the house for most of the day when "himself" comes home from a trip.

Let himself unpack, shower, do laundry and eat on his own schedule. Don't ask too much of himself when the kids go to bed, and don't wake himself up too early the next morning either. By lunch time that day, he will almost be sociable.

It will take himself another 5 days to stop complaining that he is just off the plane, so please put up with him.

Originally posted by Decker
Sorry Sarah but it's 'cos you're young. Get's worse from 30+ and even worse from 40+ [:(].

Dunno - my first transatlantic flight was when was 30 - it was no easier then than now - or vice versa, for that matter.

Like so many of you, I set my clock to local time as soon as I get on the plane. Going west is usually ok - but, try as I might, I simply can't stay up as long as I'd like to when I arrive. This is especially so when flying right to the west coast. We've tried - oh, how we've tried - even taking oursleves off to do some shopping and going out to eat. But then finding our legs turning to lead while trying to walk, and I find myself getting quite detahced. Have almost fallen asleep on my feet! I tried melatonin too and for me it had no effect.

And yes, waking up at some ungodly hour the first morning - that always happens. Usually find ourselves having a makeshift breakfast at 5am at the latest. Followed by another at 9am.....

Flying east, most times I'm home one day and back into work the next. Spend the first few days like a zombie but have pretty much accepted that's the way it is for me and that's the price I have to pay!

Great topic. Reminds me of my first flight to SFO (with UA Holidays) where upon disembarking we were greeted by a cheerful American who was going to escort us to our hotel. There were a few of us and he managed to get us lost inside the airport somehow - we were in some staff or office area - really bizarre. Anyway, he had kept us going up and then down a lift thinking it would be the way out - it wasn't. The courier guy was really annoying, we called him Chandler from Friends, really too cheerful for his own good. A woman in the party just snapped, stopped him prattling on by saying - "For f****s sake man, we're British and its 3am just get us to the f*****g hotel!". I lost the plot and couldn't stop laughing for about 20 minutes.

Anyway, I don't get the tired thing with jetlad but I feel like I am still on the plane for about 24 hours after a long journey - I notice it particularly when I lie down for the first time.

TTFN

Paul

[Scrooge]

With my work schedule this isn't to much of a problem when heading to London,I sleep on the flight over,pretty much from wheels up.

However this means that on the flight back I get no sleep and am pretty much a train wreck when I arrive on the left coast,all I do is try and stay awake for as long as I can.

I prefer to take morning flights when travelling across datelines (well to the US anyway) as this means that by the time you get there you just have to stay awake a bit more and then you can go to sleep. However, I usually don't have that much trouble with jetlag.
I find that actually frequently looking at my watch helps to adjust to local time.

Cheers,
VS045