No Jetlag?

[Commuter]

Who don't really get jetlagged, and what do you think your 'tricks' are?

I find myself not really getting jetlagged (except for slight insomnia at times) if I sleep well on the plane and I keep myself busy on arrival until the local night.

Anyone else?

 

[dot]

For me, the best tip I can give anyone is to set your watch to your destination timezone as soon as you sit on the plane and stick with that timezone for your meals and sleep patterns. For instance, by the time I took off from LAX two weeks ago to LHR - it was about 3am GMT so straight to sleep for me (ignoring the half lobster on offer for 'supper'), then on arrival into London, ensured that I stayed up until 11pm GMT or so.

Also, I try to get a bit of sun in my destination (somewhat difficult in the UK at this time of the year). Not sure if it actually helps reset my bodyclock, but it usually helps occupy the day and avoid the hotel room.

Setting my timezone has always worked well form me, no matter what direction or how many timezones I traverse.

 

[simongr]

I am not sure if I suffer from jetlag or not

My trips are either "short" hops to HKG/PVG where I tend to get in late, crash out and then try to stick to my normal timezone(ish) by getting up at 5AM and going to bed at 9PM or my trips are phenomenally long 18 hour trips - and for those I try and schedule flights to arrive in the evening and sort of time my sleeping patterns to match that. Then I get up early even if I have hardly slept and work through the day getting an early night - tends to work.

The real kicker is the flights home - I tend to arrive early morning so often grab a nap in the afternoon if I can and then stay awake until exhausted and get up early the next day...

I know Dave Noble will disagree but I prefer overnight flights where possible - for daytime flights I tend to have 1/2 glass of bubbles too much and fall asleep thus not being tired when I get to my destination...

A couple of recent examples of trips:

I did jfk-dfw-lax-jfk-nrt-hkg-syd in one long trip, getting home in the morning - I had a nap in the afternoon and was fine the next day...

 

[NM]

I have tried all sort of tricks and techniques. None works any better than a good night's sleep. And since I never get a good night's sleep on an aircraft, my present technique is to avoid overnight flights as much as I can, and sleep in a hotel room in a proper bed.

And my doctor also provides the good stuff to help me sleep in that hotel room when my body thinks I should be outside walking around.

 

[serfty]

Sleep is the cure (and perhaps not too much Alcohol ).

As I normally need 6-7 hours sleep per day, I try to ensure I get at least this much contigous sleep per 24 hour period when travelling. So I plan ahead.

e.g. if on an 9 hour overnight flight (say from HKG-SYD QF128), you know you are going to be woken 2 hours before landing so try to get to sleep as soon as possible after takeoff. Or say QF94 LAX-MEL, it's a 15 hour flight; with being woken 2 hours before landing, I try to sleep with 9 hours to go; that leave 6 hours to be fed, watered, watch a movie or three, maybe watered some more.

One more thing; plenty of water is good!

 

[coco50]

I can honestly say that I have never suffered from jetlag. I try to do daytime flights, arriving in the pm so that I can have a leisurely dinner and get to bed before 2200 and have a good night's sleep. I do not sleep well on planes and some o/n flights have tested me, such as SYD-LAX or there was one from HKG-MEL arriving about 0530 where I had to get the car and drive back to Albury. Needed several stops for powernaps. Where possible after an overnight flight avoid daytime sleep and try to reestablish daily routine with meals at the appropriate times and then get a good night's sleep. Serfty's tip about avoiding alcohol and drinking water is a good one although a couple of wines are nice after the meal.

 

[winetraveller]

I always try and keep the same routine on Long Haul flights, and try if possible to takew flights that leave in the evening, although this isn't always possible.

I do try and have dinner, and a movie, a Cognac, and then try and sleep for most of the remainder of the flight. I also set my watch to the new time zone when boarding.

However I do often do rather crazy trips, such as BOS-PIT-LAX-FRA-CPH-LHR-SVO-FRA-BKK-MEL in 5 days, with most meetings held at airports, in this case most of the time you can't sleep and keep working unless flying, and drop dead when you get home.

If I'm on holiday I think I suffer more because I don't have the same sense of purpose.

 

[JohnK]

For me state of mind and adrenalin are two factors that play a role in whether I suffer from jetlag or not.

I never suffer from jetlag when I go to SE Asia. I disembark the flight around 10:00pm and do not get to my destination until 2:00-3:00am. The next morning I am off playing golf without any side effects. Most days I am up at 8:00am raring to go and I manage to play golf Monday-Friday for 2 weeks. Here in Australia I struggle if I play 2 consecutive games Saturday-Sunday.

When I return to Australia I suffer from jetlag. I sleep as soon I arrive early in the morning because I am tired but it can also take up to a week to get back to normal sleeping patterns. I understand some people say to cure jetlag is not to sleep until late at night but there is no way I can stay awake for 16 hours after arriving into SYD on an overnight flight.

 

[drron]

John I think you hit the nail on the head.State of mind has a lot to do with it.Since retiring and knowing i dont have a deadline when getting home I really do not suffer jetlag.Sure I feel tired after an overnight flight.usually a few things to do like getting back from Brissy,start unpacking and letting people know youre home then off to bed about 2pm.This is my nanny nap time now anyway.And just before you trot out all the jokes a recent study shows that those who have an afternoon nap are 25% less likely to have a heart attack so its now known as my heart nap.
I always try and schedule longhauls to arrive late afternoon or evening and after a nights sleep was always OK.Again I could never sleep on a plane though now it is not as hard to do.
Getting that good nights sleep beats anything else.

 

[oz_mark]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Once I flew from Perth to Montreal, got there about 10 at night (sans baggage, but that's another story), went to bed, and woke up the next day fine and dandy.

On the return to Perth, I was shattered for about three days after arriving.

I think I do best arriving in the evening, and then getting some sleep.