Jet Lag Strategies-DC to Singapore

[FinelyRetired]

Have never flown from East Coast USA west to Asia. Would appreciate advice re: when to make best effort to sleep during flight, strategies for sleep first few days, etc.

 

Flight particulars are:

Leave DC 10/23 @ Noon. 1 stop/no plane change Tokyo. Arrive Singapore 10/24 @ 11:55pm.

 

Thanks, Martha

[CruiserBruce]

Same as always. Try to go to sleep at a normal time in your new destination. For Singapore- pretty easy as you get there at midnight.

 

Other locations where you land early in the morning it is a little harder, but as long as it is light, stay up. Even to 9 or 10 at night if possible.

 

Nap some on the flight, but I usually don't sleep that well, so going to sleep at an appropriate time is not too hard, usually. Your total travel time is going to be in the 24+ hour range, so getting to bed ASAP in Singapore will be easy.

[FinelyRetired]

Same as always. Try to go to sleep at a normal time in your new destination. For Singapore- pretty easy as you get there at midnight.

 

Other locations where you land early in the morning it is a little harder, but as long as it is light, stay up. Even to 9 or 10 at night if possible.

 

Nap some on the flight, but I usually don't sleep that well, so going to sleep at an appropriate time is not too hard, usually. Your total travel time is going to be in the 24+ hour range, so getting to bed ASAP in Singapore will be easy.

 

Thanks. Was hoping to hear something along those lines.

 

How do you fare on the following few nights?

[CruiserBruce]

Westbound is always a little tougher then eastbound. So, on westbounds, I seem to be a little more tired come 8 or 9pm. East bounds it works wonderful. Last trip to Europe, slept moderately on flight, and was up to midnight the night we arrived in Rome, then 11 the next night, no problem.

 

Our next trip will be the biggest test. We arrive back one day, drive 8 hours the next, and attend our niece's Ph.d graduation events that night.

[kenish]

Personally, west vs. east makes no difference for me. I'm so stoked to get to a new and exciting place I'm running like the Energizer Bunny. Usually returning home I sleep for 14 hours and then am OK the next day.

 

Several recommendations:

 

- Don't take sleeping aids, according to my doc it gives you quantity of sleep but very poor quality. If you absolutely need something, ask for an Rx of amitryptylene. Normally used for migraines an off-label use is a sleep aid...it allows the normal phases of sleep. I personally don't like it...I go into a deep, 10-14 hour sleep...I'd rather deal with groggy.

 

- Shift your bedtime an hour or two a week before, appropriate to where you're visiting. That removes a few time zones from your trip.

 

- Don't assume you're going to sleep on the plane unless you already know it's not a problem. Bring foam earplugs..not sure SQ provides them in the amenities kit if you're flying Econ.

 

Hope this helps

[FinelyRetired]

Westbound is always a little tougher then eastbound. So, on westbounds, I seem to be a little more tired come 8 or 9pm. East bounds it works wonderful. Last trip to Europe, slept moderately on flight, and was up to midnight the night we arrived in Rome, then 11 the next night, no problem.

 

Our next trip will be the biggest test. We arrive back one day, drive 8 hours the next, and attend our niece's Ph.d graduation events that night.

 

Thanks again, Bruce.

 

Like you, heading Eastbound (ie. for me UK/Europe) is not difficult.

 

After this long Westbound, I'll get to bed earlier than normal the first few nights.

 

Good luck on your next trip. Hope your niece's last name begins with "A."

Martha

[Globaliser]

Flight particulars are:

Leave DC 10/23 @ Noon. 1 stop/no plane change Tokyo. Arrive Singapore 10/24 @ 11:55pm.

It sometimes helps to know what your body is going to be demanding.

 

Your flight times, translated into body clock time (assuming that's DC time):-

• Dep IAD 1223 = 1223 body clock time
  
• Arr NRT 1515 = 0215 body clock time
  
• Dep NRT 1755 = 0455 body clock time
  
• Arr SIN 2355 = 1155 body clock time
  

Remember that your body has two sleep triggers during the day: one at bedtime, and one shortly after lunch.

 

So your best bets for getting some sleep will be to get a nap after lunch on departure from Washington. Never mind the fact that it's daylight - you may well be able to get a little bit of sleep. And then you may be able to fall asleep again about three or four hours before you reach Tokyo: do this if you feel sleepy, and ignore any meal service that comes your way at this time.

 

You'll probably feel like death warmed up during the stop in Tokyo. That's almost inevitable given the time of day your body thinks it is. But you might be able to get another nap in after you depart from Tokyo; again, ignore any meal service at this point.

 

After you reach Singapore, it'll be night time local time, and you should be able to make use of your "after lunch" sleep trigger to get some sleep that night.

 

For the next few days after that, you'll just need to be flexible. Suddenly feeling sleepy or drowsy isn't a sign of weakness or that you've done something wrong. It's just the way your body works, until it adjusts to the new time zone (which can take up to 10 days). Work with it, and it will sort itself out eventually.

Personally, west vs. east makes no difference for me.

This is absolutely correct. The direction in which you fly really makes no difference at all. What's important is what time zones you start and finish in, not how you get there.

- Don't take sleeping aids, according to my doc it gives you quantity of sleep but very poor quality.

This depends very much on what you take. There are many sleep aids that have been shown not to affect the type of sleep you get, so that the quality of sleep will be the same if all other things are equal.

 

The quality of sleep on an aircraft is never going to be good, though, because there are so many disturbances, discomforts and distractions. It took me years of practice to be able to mentally tune out everything else that's going on in the cabin. And even then, turbulence and just muscular discomfort is bound to wake me up from time to time on quite a lot of flights.

 

But some sleep aids are very persistent. I found that a full tablet of the one that I usually use (promethazine) could still have some effects 24 hours later.

[FinelyRetired]

Thanks for your thoughtful & detailed response, Globaliser!

 

Your thoughts make a whole lot of sense. I'll definately try this. The nap after leaving DC is doable, I often nap in the afternoon.

 

Martha

[Globaliser]

You're welcome. It's an exercise I go through whenever I do a new route or fly at an unusual (for me) time. I hope it helps.

[Fattony]

Westbound is always a little tougher then eastbound. So, on westbounds, I seem to be a little more tired come 8 or 9pm. East bounds it works wonderful. .

 

Funny, I always heard the opposite. Of course, much depends on the exact flight and route (are you flying economy?), how late the sun is up at your destination, etc., etc. Length of flight is also obviously a factor, and U.S. to Europe is a shorter flight than to East Asia. When I was working in Washington, DC I flew to East Asia and to Europe, and don't remember any big difference in jet leg between the two. Easing into things, if possible, always good advice. And on the flight, keeping hydrated is always advised. Also walking occasionally, though that's to prevent thrombosis, not jet lag. Now we're in Brazil and our flights to the U.S. involve more south-north travel than east-west and general fatigue, not jet-leg, is the problem (it helps that my wife now insists on flying business class on long-haul flights).

[CruiserBruce]

It is my personnal experience, backed by other's comments, that westbound is harder than eastbound. I have a B-i-L and S-i-L who fly close to 200K miles annually- mostly for work- and seem to specialize is the longest flights possible. I don't offer any scientific data.

 

Have always wondered how the long North/south routes work with jet lag. Be interested to hear more of your experiences.

 

Yes, I have a DW who also insists on Business class for long flights as well;)

[PennyAgain]

Make sure you get your date correct for booking your arrival hotel in Singapore so you can go from the airport to your hotel and go to bed!

 

Make sure that your hotel in Singapore understands that you are arriving on a midnight flight and guarantee your room with payment.

 

Verify this!

 

I've traveled with people who booked their hotel for the wrong date and had no place to sleep on arrival. Sat up in the hotel coffee shop until a room became available.

 

I also arrange in advance for a car and driver although getting a taxi in Sinapore is usually no problem in the middle of the night. The driver waits for me with a sign held up with a (sort of) Singapore spelling of my complicated last name.

[Gardyloo]

I find that trips halfway around the world pretty well scramble my internal clock beyond redemption - the fatigue from sitting in a dry-air, low air pressure tube for 20-something hours give or take overtakes "clock" fatigue quickly. Of course I try to move around, drink fluids, cat nap if possible, do brain-challenging things rather than just staring at the in-flight movies, etc. etc. - but it is what it is, and acceptance of being knackered is just part of the landscape.

 

Of course if you can fly in a premium economy or business-class seat, things change dramatically.

 

However I'd mention two Singapore-specific things just for the record.

 

Singapore Airlines offers very well-priced Round the World fares from the US - $5K in business class, for example.

 

If I were arriving at Changi Airport at midnight after flying across the Pacific (and I have) I'd book a room at the Changi Crowne Plaza hotel, right inside the terminal (and I have.) It's a marvelous hotel, steps from the customs exit (or, worst case, a short inter-terminal train ride). Set the AC to sub-zero, crash into the bed... bliss. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/singapore/sincp/hoteldetail

 

(Although it closes at midnight during the week, 2 AM on weekends, the Kopi food court in Basement 2 of Terminal 3 is a great no-pain introduction to Singapore hawker cuisine. Get your chilli crab or Hainan chicken rice from one or more of the numerous stalls, sit in air-conditioned comfort while you gobble, then back up the elevator and smack into the pillow. )

[Globaliser]

It is my personnal experience, backed by other's comments, that westbound is harder than eastbound.

 

...

 

Have always wondered how the long North/south routes work with jet lag. Be interested to hear more of your experiences.

North/south routes are dead easy, if the flights are long enough. Get on board, sleep, wake up at the destination, get off and hit the ground running. We do this between the UK and South Africa all the time. The key is (a) sleeping on board; and (b) no real time difference.

 

If you go westbound or eastbound, it's all to do with the time zone of departure and the time zone of arrival. If you fly from the UK to New Zealand and the time difference is 11 hours or 13 hours, it really makes no difference whether you go east or west.