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Best way to deal with jetlag

tokie

tokie

Golden Member
What is the best way you personally find for dealing with jetlag? I'm talking about 5+ hour time differences here.

I'm debating between 2 options: first one is not sleeping on my flight and just being up for like 35 hours, and then having a solid sleep at the appropriate time in the new time zone. The second one is trying to sleep overnight on the flight (which I know will be difficult) to get used to the new time zone.
 
I travel a lot but mostly in the US...never really had an issue with jet lag, but I've read that maintaining your "true" eating schedule helps your body regulate time? All I have to offer. 😛
 
1) Drink lots of water on the plane. At least one glass per 30 minutes.
2) Get up from your seat once an hour and stretch your legs. (Aisle seat recommended.)
3) Upon arrival, do not take a nap. Instead, take a shower, brush your teeth, change clothes, and then go eat a balanced meal.
4) Stay active the entire first day. Try to walk a bit. Explore your destination.
5) Fall asleep at a normal "bed time" around say 11:00 PM local time.

Doing this should permit your to get a full, 8-hour sleep, waking up at a normal time. Your body will now be on the "local" time schedule.
 
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No lie, the best I've found is to get shitfaced once you land. Get nice and hungover the next day, and sleep a lot.
 
GTaudiophile said:
1) Drink lots of water on the plane. At least one glass per 30 minutes.
2) Get up from your seat once an hour and stretch your legs. (Aisle seat recommended.)
3) Upon arrival, do not take a nap. Instead, take a shower, brush your teeth, change clothes, and then go eat a balanced meal.
4) Stay active the entire first day. Try to walk a bit. Explore your destination.
5) Fall asleep at a normal "bed time" around say 11:00 PM local time.

Doing this should permit your to get a full, 8-hour sleep, waking up at a normal time. Your body will now be on the "local" time schedule.
Click to expand...

Very solid advice here. You need to get your body on local time as soon as possible and GTa's method has always worked for me.
 
I just don't sleep. It's perfect because there is no jet lag. You just sleep at night at your destination.

I had a flight at 1am but didn't sleep or do anything special to prepare beforehand so I had already been awake for 17 hours, then 15 hours on the plane, and at my destination it was like 4 in the morning, so I stayed up all day until midnight at my destination and went to sleep then.

I woke up and instantly acclimated. Though that stretch of staying away was so weird. It was like. a never ending day. Brain was confused.
 
I prefer to stay awake for the extended time, and then sleep a good long time. Doing so usually entails TV watching and some caffeine until a few hours before I'd want to go to sleep - anything that requires more thinking than that would be a lost cause at that stage.
 
When I went to london I took a short nap, walked around the few city blocks around my flat for a while, got a pint, lot lost for 15 minutes (lol), and then got back to the flat & crashed.
 
Either cocaine or benedryl (diphenhydramine). One makes you stay up a bit later, the other makes you sleep. Do you want to stay up all night and go to bed the next evening, or do you want to go to bed right now and wake up at the correct time tomorrow?
 
Refuse to go to sleep until close to the normal time for the area that you're in. You'll have a miserable day, but after that you're golden.
 
What GTAudiophile said. That first day is going to suck, but if you can get past it you'll be good to go (albeit a little tired) for the rest of your trip.
 
This is an old thread, but I didn't feel the need to start a new one. I'll be leaving CA around 2-something in the afternoon on a Thursday and arriving in London around noon on Friday. (I have a connecting flight in Los Angles.) I've read a couple of different theories here. Would it be best if I slept for a few hours on the flight and just stayed up when I got to London? I'll be with my fiance and in-laws, so I don't have to worry about waiting for a hotel room or anything, but I don't want to go to bed when I get there, necessarily, either. :-/ I want to acclimate as soon as I can. I'll be there for 2 weeks.
 
hzl eyed grl said:
This is an old thread, but I didn't feel the need to start a new one. I'll be leaving CA around 2-something in the afternoon on a Thursday and arriving in London around noon on Friday. (I have a connecting flight in Los Angles.) I've read a couple of different theories here. Would it be best if I slept for a few hours on the flight and just stayed up when I got to London? I'll be with my fiance and in-laws, so I don't have to worry about waiting for a hotel room or anything, but I don't want to go to bed when I get there, necessarily, either. :-/ I want to acclimate as soon as I can. I'll be there for 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Leaving CA at 2pm CA time and arriving in London at 12 noon London time?
 
hzl eyed grl said:
This is an old thread, but I didn't feel the need to start a new one. I'll be leaving CA around 2-something in the afternoon on a Thursday and arriving in London around noon on Friday. (I have a connecting flight in Los Angles.) I've read a couple of different theories here. Would it be best if I slept for a few hours on the flight and just stayed up when I got to London? I'll be with my fiance and in-laws, so I don't have to worry about waiting for a hotel room or anything, but I don't want to go to bed when I get there, necessarily, either. :-/ I want to acclimate as soon as I can. I'll be there for 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

I took a short nap (~40 mins) on the plane when coming here to London, then stayed up until probably 11pm local time before sleeping. Woke up the next day at 8am without any jetlag.
 
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