Jetlag issues for the LHR -> SYD flight

I am flying UC to Sydney in September with my 60 year old mother, we are not staying overnight at Hong Kong, and we are staying in Sydney itself for 3 nights...How best can we combat jetlag so not to ruin the time in Sydney? The flight arrives at 6am, can we expect to be sightseeing during that very day?

Sorry if it's a silly question...

It's not a silly Q at all

The effects of jetlag can be very individual but after such a journey you can expect a range from tired and groggy to severely disorientated.

One set of things you can do to help reduce the effect is: set your clock to Sydney the moment you take-off and try to sleep in patterns that match Sydney time (supplements are useful here) and don't drink much alcohol, coffee or other poisons that stimulate the body. Lots of water and neutral stuff. I know this is difficult but can be a help.

Others will have more ...

Try and stay awake as much as you can on the first sector (could be more difficult for your Mum) and have only a few hours kip. You'll arrive in HKG late afternoon feeling tired enough for the next sector. Departure from HKG is early evening local time (around 9.30pm SYD EST) so now would be a good idea to adjust yourself to the local time in SYD. Have a light dinner onboard after take-off from HKG and then sleep. Sleep for as long as possible. You should arrive feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

The Strawb

Originally posted by Strawberry Muppet
Try and stay awake as much as you can on the first sector (could be more difficult for your Mum) and have only a few hours kip. You'll arrive in HKG late afternoon feeling tired enough for the next sector. Departure from HKG is early evening local time (around 9.30pm SYD EST) so now would be a good idea to adjust yourself to the local time in SYD. Have a light dinner onboard after take-off from HKG and then sleep. Sleep for as long as possible. You should arrive feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

The Strawb

Thanks, that sounds like very good advice. My mother tends to watch a lot of tv on board the flight, so I doubt she will find it too difficult to stay awake on the first sector. It's such a bullish flight, if only it was about 7 hours to HKG, and not 12.5 hours, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to stay awake. I think I will need to resist temptation and only eat a light dinner shortly after takeoff from Heathrow at 22:30hours, so I won't be as sluggish and then sleepy on that first sector to HKG.

The ideal thing would be to have some food, watch a few movies, listen to music and then have just a few hours sleep and then be ready for touchdown at HKG...therefore you could have a good 6 hours sleep for the SYD sector.

The advice already given all seems good. All I would add is that I assume this is supposed to be a break for you an your mum; a relaxing time. So I would not get worried or pressurised to fit in as much as you can do on the first day in Aus. All this will achieve (IMHO) is to make you over anxious, and may therefore stop you sleeping on the flight! Much better I would think to see how it goes: If you both arrive fresh and fit, go for it. If you are knackered, make an easy day of it - perhaps enjoy the cafe culture for a few hours and then an afternoon nap. What you may well find is that the excitment keeps you going for a little while when you arrive, but you soon wilt. In which case, why not go with the flow?

Suggest you limit your daytime sleep (if you have to have it) to a short nap on the first day or two. Perhaps take an alarm. If you sleep too much then your night time sleep is more disturbed, and you start to loose out on REM sleep - which can make you feel more disoriented. Keep the water going during the first day or two, particularly as you may find the jet lag gives you a bit of an upset stomach and a lesser apitite. Expect to wake at odd hours of the night, but don't worry about it - just read a book or something.

I guess my main point is not to get into a bare knuckle fight with your jet lag, but roll with the punches. Accept it and work round it and most of all don't get frustrated, pressurised and angry at it. I am sure you will find it much less of a problem that way. Using the tips people have given above will help. But you cannot totally eliminate the effects, so floooooooow.

99

PS - Sydney is quite a happening place at night. So if you find you cannot get to sleep at 2200 (or what ever time you normally go to bed) go out and PARTY!

If your only in AUS for 3 nights it might be worth keeping your body on UK time..

I recently flew to Singapore on Friday night - returning Monday night

My Jet lag was none existent as I stayed on UK time as much as possible with regards to eating/sleeping patterns etc.

Obviously if your away longer than a few days I wouldn't recommend this approach!;)

I find that no sleep on the flight is the best option. Its means you are very tired at night and sleep through it. When i went to Australia i managed to pretty much curb jetlag using this technique.

[honey lamb]

I've only just seen this since I was in Sydney when it was first posted. Oh dear! While the OP was obviously a very caring son, unless his mum had been in frail health, there is absolutely no reason why she should not be able to cope with and manage her jet lag. After all 60 isn't that old - it's the new 40. I should know. I'm 40 next week!!

and 40 is the new 20!!!

40 is the new 20 - Cool! That means I am just 21 again!

More than likely you're going to be jetlagged when you arrive.
Most people seem to find going east much harder on the body than west, I'm the opposite. For me west is so much harder on the body than the far east.
SYD on the other hand is a whole different board game!
We didn't have a stopover on the flight out, managed a bit of sleep in Upper (too excited I guess). WE got to the hotel for about 9ish, had a shower and went out for breakfast. For most of the day we were fine, but by four in the afternoon we just had to go back to the hotel and sleep, and we slept, and slept, and slept, finally waking up about half nine the next morning.
That day we were fine, did lots of sightseeing and stayed out till about 4 in the morning.

Sorry if this has been more of a travelogue than any sound advice, just thought I would demonstrate how it affected us. I think ultimately there is only so much you can do to prevent it, often its just best to work with the jetlag...its your body telling you need the sleep...

Don't expect too much the first day and you'll have a great time!! [y]

Dean

I agree with the stay awake to HKG part.

Two ideas to ponder: first, flip the seats (at least your Mother's) periodically to HKG, even if you are awake - it will probably lessen the swelling to get your legs up. Falling asleep? Put it back in the seat config. Just get your feet up at least half of the time. Second, you will be off the plane at HKG, so take advantage of it, get your blood moving and walk around.

PACK A PAIR OF LARGER SHOES in your carry-on (preferred) or on the top layer of your checked bag (at least a half-size). Most crew pack one pair of larger shoes to wear in-flight. Works great for me, too. Your feet will thank you! Lightweight/casual preferred; you could always take a pair of sandals and use those.

I cannot stress this enough if your Mother has never flown a long-haul before. I have seen people in abject misery crawling off the plane in SYD because they drank booze and/or didn't drink water, or didn't change their position during the long flight. Y class seems to be the worst, but you can get it in J as well. Ask any shoe shop in SYD, and they will tell you some stories of people having their feet swell 3 full sizes! Don't be one of them. Drink, walk, move, and get your legs up as much as possible. Use the Y lavs (if you want to move about in the cabin). Makes you appreciate what you pay for J.

Melatonin, Valerian, and homeopathics are out there for sleeping and combating Jet Lag. One of them, No Jet Lag, I have personally used and I'm pleased with the results. You can get it many places.

Enjoy SYD! 3 days are just enough to make you want to go back! Or never leave...