Tips for beating jet lag?
Discussion
Its 4pm yet my body is acting like its 2am.
Just got back from the states (west coast) and im suffering with the dreaded jet lag. My feeble attempts at manning up and getting through it are failing as I work from home alone... so my bed is very close and I have no-one to keep me in check..
any tips / advice?
Just got back from the states (west coast) and im suffering with the dreaded jet lag. My feeble attempts at manning up and getting through it are failing as I work from home alone... so my bed is very close and I have no-one to keep me in check..
any tips / advice?
Prep is everything. I do 3 or so long haul flights a month and the best ways I've found are...
1. If flying west (e.g. USA) try and fly around midday. Stay awake extra hours, then go to bed slightly early - ideally after a beer or two. Guarantees you sleep through. Don't forget to book a wake up call though.
2. If flying east (e.g. middle east/singapore etc), get to sleep ASAP. Try and leave UK evening time.
Also I tend to find these general tips help.
1. Stay hydrated. Don't drink (much) booze.
2. Don't double up on meals (i.e. eat in lounge then eat in plane)
3. Don't feel you need to eat at all on a flight - just because they have food you don't need to eat it! e.g. if flying overnight to Singapore, eat an evening meal and get a proper nights sleep. I find an extra hours sleep is better than a rubbish airline breakfast. Just get a cuppa when you wake up instead and eat once off the plane - preferably somewhere nice.
4. Caffeine is great. Starbucks is everywhere, so is Costa..
1. If flying west (e.g. USA) try and fly around midday. Stay awake extra hours, then go to bed slightly early - ideally after a beer or two. Guarantees you sleep through. Don't forget to book a wake up call though.
2. If flying east (e.g. middle east/singapore etc), get to sleep ASAP. Try and leave UK evening time.
Also I tend to find these general tips help.
1. Stay hydrated. Don't drink (much) booze.
2. Don't double up on meals (i.e. eat in lounge then eat in plane)
3. Don't feel you need to eat at all on a flight - just because they have food you don't need to eat it! e.g. if flying overnight to Singapore, eat an evening meal and get a proper nights sleep. I find an extra hours sleep is better than a rubbish airline breakfast. Just get a cuppa when you wake up instead and eat once off the plane - preferably somewhere nice.
4. Caffeine is great. Starbucks is everywhere, so is Costa..
I've tried the 'not eating until your back in your destination time zone' trick, it works for me. So, as an example if I'm leaving somewhere in the evening and not landing until 9am GMT I'll have dinner, not eat on the plane, then wait till breakfast at the relevant UK time. Keep hydrated obviously!
Quick update.
I have a can of relentless in my hands and I think ive beaten the 'bedtime' urge today so far. I had a real wobble about 10am where I almost caved in and went back to bed.
Sleeping straight through the night now though which is good.
Almost there!
(Relentless juiced aint half bad)
I have a can of relentless in my hands and I think ive beaten the 'bedtime' urge today so far. I had a real wobble about 10am where I almost caved in and went back to bed.
Sleeping straight through the night now though which is good.
Almost there!
(Relentless juiced aint half bad)
The worst jet lag we've experienced is coming back fom the USA.
Always try to fly overnight coming back to UK as this can ease the pain especially if you can sleep on the plane. Being 6ft 4in tall I will not fly more than a couple of hours unless I can upgrade to upper class or club class for this reason. However when you get home set your alarm to allow you a couple of hours just to take the edge off it and get back into your normal routine asap. If you fail to do this it can take a week or more to get your brain in gear....I know from experience.
Always try to fly overnight coming back to UK as this can ease the pain especially if you can sleep on the plane. Being 6ft 4in tall I will not fly more than a couple of hours unless I can upgrade to upper class or club class for this reason. However when you get home set your alarm to allow you a couple of hours just to take the edge off it and get back into your normal routine asap. If you fail to do this it can take a week or more to get your brain in gear....I know from experience.
Melatonin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
Reset your body clock.
Sold as a dietary supplement in USA only. Can't be bought by civvies in UK.
I've never used it as I prefer to stay up the following day until sleep is inevitable, but a mate of mine who visits relatives in the USA says he gets good results with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
Reset your body clock.
Sold as a dietary supplement in USA only. Can't be bought by civvies in UK.
I've never used it as I prefer to stay up the following day until sleep is inevitable, but a mate of mine who visits relatives in the USA says he gets good results with it.
The_Doc said:
Melatonin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
Reset your body clock.
Sold as a dietary supplement in USA only. Can't be bought by civvies in UK.
I've never used it as I prefer to stay up the following day until sleep is inevitable, but a mate of mine who visits relatives in the USA says he gets good results with it.
You can get it on amazon and other sites now no problemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
Reset your body clock.
Sold as a dietary supplement in USA only. Can't be bought by civvies in UK.
I've never used it as I prefer to stay up the following day until sleep is inevitable, but a mate of mine who visits relatives in the USA says he gets good results with it.
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