What's your best tip for avoiding jet lag?

[Denali]

If you can, shower after your long/med haul and before your next flight.

Once you are at your destination, get outdoors, fresh air, daylight and walk. Don't go to sleep until 9am local time.

For the next few days, I still wake up approx. 2-3am, check emails, do about 15mins of work and then I go back to sleep for a couple of hours but that's the worse of "jet lag" that I seem to suffer.

 

[maninblack]

It all depends on which direction you are traveling as well as departure and arrival times. Traveling east usually results in more severe jet lag. The longer the flights, the worse the jet lag in most cases too. If traveling MEL - LAX then I agree with the OP. I get a day room at airport hotel have a shower, go for breakfast, then take a 3 hour sleep. This is usually good enough to re-sync the rhythm. The key is to then get up and get going around lunchtime. If going the other way and a morning arrival in Europe I try to stay up all day and get to bed at a semi-normal time. Doesn't always work but I don't try to fight the 2am wake ups. If I do some reading I usually fall back asleep within an hour or two. Each case is different though.

 

[slc767338]

Having just returned from London, I have used the 'stay awake as long as possible' method. It works better with flights such as QF9/10 which arrive at around midday and late evening respectively but is harder to use with early morning arrivals.

I also find going East-West is easier to adjust from than West-East.

 

[Alanslegal]

At the outbound airport I set my watch / phones to destination time and try to follow the new times.

 

[maninblack]

At the outbound airport I set my watch / phones to destination time and try to follow the new times.

I have tried that too and have had some success but again it depends on the destination. When you travel on QF93 for example they try to create night time at about 4pm Melbourne time which is 9pm LA time but it doesn't work for me, I might get a 1 hour nap in but I never really sleep even with assistance. Flights to Europe through HKG and SIN are better because the usually depart from there late at night so you are ready to sleep.

 

[serfty]

6 hours sleep minimum in 25 is my basic rule. (More if possible) If I do that I survive quite well.

e.g. On a QF94 for 14 hours I'll stay awake for meal with 1-2 movies 3¾-4¼ hours; try to sleep for the next 7 or so. Wake up with about 2½ hours to go and watch a movie with breakfast before arrival.

 

[sinophile888]

My foolproof method of avoiding jetlag won’t suit many people besides me.
1) Only fly on daytime flights.
2) Restrict flights to a maximum of 8 hours. Preferably more like 5 – 7 hours.
3) Book into an airport hotel for at least one night after each leg.

This works well flying either east-west or vv. It takes 4 days to get to and from Europe.
An example is
PER -> SIN (1 night),
SIN -> DXB (2 nights, could manage 1 night with time differences),
DXB -> FCO
Return
LHR -> DXB* (2 night),
DXB -> SIN (1 night),
SIN -> PER.
*At the time, EK had the only flight which left LHR in the morning, at around 0830.

Price was quite good as I flew on QF PER -> SIN -> PER on points and then EK from SIN onwards, the EK legs for only $1200 return. This was for the busy Dec. /Jan. period. A bonus was that we had time for a good look around Dubai, a destination to which I would not normally plan a visit.

Usually, I fly north/south on daytime flights so jetlag isn't an issue.

 

[JohnK]

I find adrenalin works wonders but at my age it's not a cure to tiredness.

The simple solution for me is to sleep when tired.

 

[gogo419]

"Earthing"

put your barefoot on the metal under seat in front while flying and when you reach your destination go barefoot/lie down on some grass for 30 minutes or even longer.

Will probably sound crazy to most people. But honestly try it a couple of times!

(whats more effective is travelling with an earthing sheet so you can sleep on it every night!)

gogo

 

[Milboo]

When I fly into NYC, given time zones etc I always get in there early evening so arrive, eat, shower and head to bed around 10-11pm and have a good sleep (til about 8) and hit the ground running. Depending on how much I slept on the flight over, a late afternoon nap on the first day is sometimes needed so I can get through to 11pm - 12am.

On the way home - I use Melatonin. First one inflight and the first 2 nights I'm home. With a morning landing I push through until about 10pm.

 

[RozInAus]

It's not a total fix but helps so much if you have the cash - fly Business Class.

 

[Quickstatus]

"Earthing"

put your barefoot on the metal under seat in front while flying and when you reach your destination go barefoot/lie down on some grass for 30 minutes or even longer.

Will probably sound crazy to most people. But honestly try it a couple of times!

(whats more effective is travelling with an earthing sheet so you can sleep on it every night!)

gogo

Anything related to Gaia mother earth, crystals, pyramids, Enya, smoke and incense, aromatherapy, inner feelings, homoepathies, other pathies, colonic therapies, I try to avoid - just psychobabble bulldust.....

Im going to investigate modafinil. A wakefulness promoting drug approved by FDA and TGA.


otherwise sleep at nighttime, but when dead tired during the day after long haul, I would go for a run first then shower then sonething to eat then a nap. No way to beat jetlag only mitigate its effects. The more you sleep during day the longer it takes body clock to reset.