body clock

[beaver]

We are flying to Sydney for a cruise in February. I am concerned about adjusting to the time change. I hope that I will be awake through the day and still able to enjoy the night activities.

I normally get up around 5am and our normal evenings end before 11 pm. We stay up later when activities are on. We live in northern ontario on eastern time zone. The cruise is 14 days and I would prefer to have trouble adjusting when returning home than screwing up our holiday.

What are your experiences?

[beaver]

I forgot to mention flight time to Sydney. We should be flying Air Canada from Toronto at around 8 pm stop with a over in Vancouver for around 2 hrs and arrive in Sydney around 10 am. Times are theoretical as we booked the flights with the cruise line and do not get confirmation until 3 weeks prior to sailing. These time are suggested by our TA.

[roberts2005]

I have traveled to Australia twice from the east coast. Both times I found it easier to adjust than our trips to Europe.

[Spikesgirl]

I didn't have any trouble flying to Australia, it was coming home that was hard for me. It took me nearly two weeks to get my internal clock 'back on line.'

 

One thing that works for me is that I don't play the, "Well back home, it's this time." I set my watch and that's the time it is. It was tough to not sleep through the first day in Aukland, but we managed and that seem to help us really adjust to the local time.

 

I also found that 'No Jet Lag", an herbal supplement, works well for me. Didn't have it for Australia, but used it for England and the down time was minimal for me.

 

Charlie

[kaseyoz]

the trip from LA to sydney is usually always at night and dark, so hopefully if you can get some sleep then, you may do ok when you arrive here.

[rjscott]

Beaver, we live not far from you, so have the same time difference issues when flying to Sydney. We've done it twice and it is my experience that it is worse coming back. Really going over was not bad at all. As mentioned, with flying at night, that helps to get the passengers settled down and makes it easier to catch some sleep. I asked my Dr. for some Ambien so that I could get some sleep on the plane, which I normally can't do (I got 3-4 hrs, which was definitely better than none). Once in Sydney(at 9AM), I tried to keep moving, even though my body wanted a nap badly. Getting outside and walking about helped a lot. Although we did turn in that first night rather early, I felt rested and fairly normal time-wise the next day and thereafter.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[Aussie Cruisers]

I used to travel a lot and when in the States, I grabbed a bottle of Melatonin (I get it from Costco) as it is a prescrption medicine here in Aust. Take it thirty mins before you need to sleep and you will readjust your body clock so easily. It beats all the tricks in the book. Also, this is a MUST. ** Drink a litre of water for each time zone you cross. ** This will be difficult, but you will cope so much better. DON'T drink any coffee, tea or alcohol on the plane. This may or may not be easy for you, but you will be grateful when you land as you will not be dehydrated, and you will feel amazing. For all the money we spend on flights, hotels and cruises, so many people feel as though this simple step of staying hydrated is too hard. For me, I can't afford NOT to stay hydrated as it can ruin your first few days if you have a bad flight!

 

These are my travel tips, and they work. I used to work for an airline. :)

 

Mark.

[Globaliser]

We are flying to Sydney for a cruise in February. I am concerned about adjusting to the time change. I hope that I will be awake through the day and still able to enjoy the night activities.

Ignoring the date line for the moment (which is confusing): You are basically travelling to a place which is 8 hours behind Toronto. So you will be waking earlier in the day than local time would suggest, and also feeling tired earlier than local time would suggest. But within 3-4 days, you should have fully adjusted, because your body clock adjusts better this way around.

 

Being tired because of the overnight flight is a separate issue from body clock adjustment. Sleep as much as you can. Aussie Cruisers is absolutely right about coffee and tea: I would advise avoiding all caffeine for 24 hours before you start travelling, and throughout the entire flight. Alcohol is more of a personal thing; I find that it helps to relax me and send me to sleep - but definitely only in moderation. Also, while staying hydrated is good, sleep (if you can get it) is more important than hydration IMHO.

 

I'm usually flying between here and Australia twice, sometimes three times, a year. It's basically a 24-hour flight each way - so I've accumulated quite a bit of experience at this.

 

If you search this forum for "jet lag" and similar keywords, there are a few old threads that have more in-depth tips.

[beaver]

I will put this information to use. Thanks for the suggestions.

[SheilaNC]

One other suggestion that works is to be out in the sunlight as much as you can the day you arrive to help your body align with the current time. We usually arrive in the morning (this next trip is the first time we arrive in the evening so will need to report back about that ), take a shower and change clothes and head out to walk around. A quick nap in the afternoon usually helps to keep us awake until a reasonable Australian bedtime. We find that the adjustment is not difficult. Did the same on a recent trip to Wellington and it worked beautifully. Had to hit the ground running with a work project two mornings after arrival and there were no problems. Good luck!

[mochuck]

Sheila is right, try to be out and about as much as you can. It is often hard to get through the first day without a little kip but make sure its not too long - just enough to give you a second wind.