Your Jet Lag Experience and Advice

[GoofingOff]

We're flying into UK from the west coast (US) for our cruise. Our flight leaves at 6 PM California time and arrives around noon UK time.

 

How tough is it to adjust to the time in UK? What will the adjustment be like? Any suggestions? We'll be there for 2 days before we embark on our Baltic Sea cruise, and our group of 11 include small children ages 2 to 10.

 

Same questions for when we go back to the west coast (US). I believe our flight leaves UK at 2 PM and arrives at 4 PM California time. What's that like (some of the kids in our group will return to school a few days after we return).

 

If you've traveled w/ children, did they have an easier or harder time getting over jet lag?

 

Thanks!

[Mombak]

Although I don't have any advice concerning jet lag with children -- but I will come November, :eek: I do have a number of suggestions for the adults:

 

On the plane, avoid alcohol and caffeine. They will both dehydrate you. So will the dry air on the plane. Drink lots of water! Water has an amazing ability to help you get over jet lag relatively quick.

 

If you're arriving in the day, try to sleep as much as you can on the plane. I know it can be tough, but even several cat naps will help. If you're arriving at night, try not to sleep on the plane.

 

The first thing you should do upon getting on the plane, is change your watch to the local time of your destination. This is a bit of a psychological ploy with yourself. If you can convince yourself that it's the local time, your body will adjust faster. And don't let people tell you what time it is back home.

 

Here's an unusual thing I do on the plane: I take off my shoes (note to self: wear clean socks). It's much more comfortable sitting in a tin can hurtling through the sky when you can wiggle your toes. Also, take the occasional stroll through the cabin to get your blood flowing. It's not good to sit for 9 hours in an uncomfortable seat.

 

If you arrive during the day, force yourself to stay up and awake as long as you can (at least until 9 pm). Go for lots of walks in the fresh air. Lots of fresh air and water will help. Again, the quicker you can trick your body, the better. If you MUST have a nap, make sure to be up and awake before 1 or 2pm, and NEVER nap longer then four hours. You WANT to be tired on the first day so your body can adjust to local time as you sleep at night. FORCE yourself to get up if you've decided to have a nap.

 

Another thing I do on landing, is wash my face with cold water. Or, even better, have a cool shower. The cold water "wakes" me up. The clean feeling tricks my body into thinking it's a brand new day. Repeat whenever needed. Sounds silly, but it works for me.

 

If you arrive at night, go straight to bed and get whatever sleep you can. Get up at whatever time you normally do and pretend it's a regular day. Do not take a nap!

 

This is all meant to get your body on local time as soon as possible. Do not try to do it slowly. Adjusting in one fell swoop is best (and quickest). It usually takes one or two days for most people.

 

I've heard of a number of medications that people take, but I've never tried them. Melatonin seems popular to help people sleep the first few nights, but I've heard that a lot of people have some pretty scary dreams using Melatonin.

 

There's something called "No Jet Lag" available at homeopathic stores and some travel stores that I've heard good things about. Again, haven't tried it, but it sounds promising.

 

Getting over Jet Lag is harder on some people than others. The trick is to do it as quickly as possible and stick with it.

[cafediem]

My DH travels frequently, and his advice to me is the same as above - always set your watch to the destination time, then act as if that is the actual time - so if it is nighttime try to sleep as much as you can, and try to wake up and have breakfast when they serve it on the plane. When you get to the UK try NOT to sleep during the day - just makes it take longer to get over the jet lag. My SIL swears by melatonin, which I think you can buy over the counter in the US.

 

Children...I remember the first time we took our boys to Florida. Youngest was 7. In Florida he just acted as though he was in Britain, and for the first few days just fell asleep late afternoon/ early evening as his body clock adjusted. DH had to carry him back to the hotel room as he just wouldn't be woken. Then he woke up at 5am (and put the TV on...). On the plus side, my boys never seem to suffer from jet lag. Only thing I do is make sure that the younger one does not have cola on the plane, or he wouldn't sleep at all! Fingers crossed that your little ones will be fine...

[eh2zed]

The key is to go to local time upon arrival. Also some people will start to change their personal schedules by a half hour per day preflight. In other words start getting up earlier/going to bed earlier and get partway onto the new time before you leave.

I have used Tylenols JetLagz. I think it works but am never sure. So far only used it going to Oz and China.

[RachelG]

Above advice is all good. My kids never seemed to be bothered by jet lag. I notice going west to east but never east to west, so coming home will not be a problem.

[syesmar]

I agree with the previous posters. If at all possible, sleep on the plane. I usually have no trouble with this, but last year going to Rome there was one distraction after another (long -- and now humorous -- stories, but to summarize I had noisy children in front of me, a woman behind me who yelled everything she said, and across from me a row full of all-night card players who tossed a coin in a cup with every play)!

 

I would drink some herbal tea such as Celestial Seasonings "Sleepytime Tea" to help me sleep more peacefully. I personally have no side effects with Melatonin, but have met those who do; it might not help me get to sleep, but it makes my sleep more restful. I have known those who take Nyquil in flight. Eye masks can block out unwanted light. Be careful about earplugs with the cabin pressure, but if you can sleep with soft music, there's always radio available on your headsets; or if you have an iPod, etc., might want to bring some peaceful music you could sleep to, in case of noisy passengers. Many folks find the "airplane pillow" that inflates and fits around the neck very helpful in adjusting to sleeping upright. I'd wear as comfortable clothing as possible.

 

And I second those who advise to stay hydrated! For whatever reason, after my last flight my feet became so swollen that I could barely wear my tennis shoes (I had taken them off in-flight). So, my advice is to observe a very low sodium diet prior to the flight, and perhaps even make a special request for your in-flight meals and beverages.

 

I've found when I arrive rested and resist the urge to nap during the day, JetLag wanes much sooner!

 

Enjoy your flight!

[tg_lindo]

The problem with NyQuil is that is has alcohol in it, and alcohol is best avoided.

 

The "No Jet Lag" product, I bought at a luggage store, thinking what the heck. It does not have melatonin in it. It claims to be homeopathic. Wow, it sure seemed to work. Of course, it could also be placebo effect.

 

I rigorously follow the other posters' methods of going onto destination time as soon as I get to the departure gate. And I was, in both cases, most excited about my trip which could also have made for some adrenaline upon arrival.

 

Yet, to my glee, I felt very close to local time upon arriving at my hotel, in both cases it was late afternoon in Europe after flying non-stop from California.

[Atomica]

The best thing to do, on arrival in Europe, is treat it like a normal day. Don't focus on what time it is on the West Coast, or how long you've been up - if it's lunch time, have some lunch! Try to stay up until you'd normally go to bed, eat dinner on time, and you'll be surprised how quickly you adjust.

 

For me, I always find coming BACK from Europe to be the hard part.

 

Oh, and like others have said: stay hydrated but keep away from the coffee/pop - they'll just dehydrate you. Have water/juice frequently and you'll be fine.

[bqkali]

The best advice I have is to stay up when you arrive and not go to bed until as close to a regular bedtime as possible. Aim for at least 8pm - later if you can. Staying outside helps a lot (save the museums for a different day); the fresh air and sunshine really help you to adjust your internal clock and to keep you awake. Don't nap when you get to the hotel (it will just make you groggy); instead, take a shower or at least wash your face somewhere if your room isn't ready. Stay hydrated as best you can on the flight and especially when you land. Make sure you get several nights good sleep before you leave on vacation. If you can sleep on the flight, do it - I can't sleep a wink on airplanes, but the adrenaline and fresh air usually keeps me going til 9 or 10. Just a side note, if you know you CAN'T sleep on planes, avoid taking a sleeping pill or medication of some sort. It won't help you sleep and it will just make you groggier the next day and make it even harder to adjust. If you normally CAN sleep on planes and just need a little help drifting off, take 1 and hope for several hours of blissful rest :)

 

I'm assuming you're flying to London. If you land around noon, by the time you get through customs and to the hotel to drop off your luggage, then get some lunch...you really don't have that much time to fill before it's time to call it a night, but it's really important to try and stay awake as best you can.

 

The next day, sleep in a little bit and you should be good to go! You'll be amazed how quickly you adjust to the time difference.

[AmoMondo]

I always find the eastbound trip worse for 2 reasons -

1 usually involves an overnight flight and I never sleep well on planes, so basically lose a nights sleep

2. you cant make yourself go to sleep before you are tired. It might me midnight UK time but my body clock still thinks its early evening. I end up not getting to sleep until 4am which means I sleep in late the next day and then cant sleep at normal night time again. The other way round, I just keep myself busy and force myself to stay awake until at least 10pm local time and the next day I'm a bit tired but on the right time zone

 

Only other advice I can offer is avoid alchol on the flight and drink plenty of fluids and don't overeat as they all make it worse.

 

I've only experienced it bad once and that was with a 10 hour time chane west to east. It hit me the second day - I felt dizzy and disorientated> Didn't last long though.