Beating jet lag

I read a tip on this forum before our trip to Rome in February and it worked for us. We arrived at 10:30 and went directly to the hotel. We arranged airport pick up through them. We stowed our luggage and took a walk. We walked to the Victor Emmanuel monument which was just down the street and ate a a restaurant recommended by Rick which only served lunch. We checked into our hotel at 2:30 and took a nap and met in the hotel lobby at 4:30 (we were 3 couples). We then walked around the city to Trevi, Spanish steps etc. we had a light dinner and back at the hotel by 9:00 and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning we awoke at our regular time and continued with our itinerary. We were fine for the rest of the trip. sorry, I forgot who posted the tip.

Have a great trip!
We often have the same travel time arrangement. Eat the dinner, then try to get some sleep on the plane. I haven't tried melatonin but may this next trip. I am always excited about the holiday, so sleeping is difficult. Once you are in country then stay up, walk in the sun and fight the need to sleep for as long as you can, get on the time zone as fast as possible. Unfortunately, they eat dinner very late in Italy so be careful you don't fall asleep in your pasta!

Most folks try to stay awake as long as possible on the first day. Doing outdoor activities helps. Sleep as best you can on the plane. When you are tired your body needs energy - eat carbs & protein to help fuel your day. Try to stay up until 8 pm ot so Italy time - you should then sleep through the night and wake at a reasonable time the next day.

We do exactly as Barbara posted and it works like a charm.

Voting for all of the above!

Fresh air & daylight help reset your internal clock.

Stay up as long as you can the first day, eat meals at the appropriate local times, then turn in at a "reasonable" bedtime. For us this means staying awake until at least 8pm and we almost always make it 'til past 9. Then set an alarm for the next day to rise at your normal time.

I find that for the first few nights I wake at 4 or 5am, make myself go back to sleep then rise at 7 or 8 feeling well rested.

You may find that steering clear of high carb or high fat meals the first day will help with sleepiness.

ETA: I am never able to sleep on planes, but these days I do don an eye mask for an hour or so around 3am destination-time, to rest my eyes so they aren't all irritated the first day and I feel less sleepy. I also set my watch/phone to the local time at my destination as soon as I board the plane.

Sleep on the plane, if you can, and then try to stay awake until normal bedtime. That's what works for us, anyway. If we went down for a nap, we'd get up feeling foggy and miserable an hour or two later but that does work for some folks. Spend the day walking outside and generally getting used to the rhythm of Italy; no museums or other attractions which demand wide-awake attention. Quick stops into churches and whatnot is OK, though.

Oh, and coffee helps! No better time than arrival day to have your first dose of fabulous Italian joe! We'll stop for a cappuccino as soon as we've dumped the bags, and have another early afternoon.

With an early dinner and an early-ish bedtime, you should feel fine the next morning. We'll sometimes get a 2nd wind from the adrenalin rush of just being THERE and end up awake longer than we thought we'd be! Moretti under the moon... :O)

Don't drink alcohol on the plane. Do drink plenty of fluids. Don't try to force sleep, just take is as it comes, probably when you are used to sleeping. If you take melatonin you may want to take it as you depart as it takes a while. When we arrive at the hotel it's usually too early to check in. But we've gotten lucky a few times and then a shower is the perfect beginning to day one. If not, see if there is a lobby restroom and get that airplane crud off your face and hands. All the rest I agree with. But, the nap does not do it for us. We tried it and dragged around like zombies the rest of the day.

Basically, on an overnight flight heading east you get a short night. It is the same when we fly from Seattle, but we have a much greater time change to deal with than you do ( 9 you change from here tonItaly, versus 6 hours for you).

Definitely try to sleep on the plane, but not the whole time---you won't stay asleep. Get comfortable, have dinner, and mayby try to go asleep around 8:30pm East Coast time. Probably earlier than your usual bedtime, but should be easier to fall asleep then. They will probably wake people up for coffee/breakfast about an hour before landing.

When you arrive, if you can check in to your hotel, take a shower to freshen up--that does wonders. Then get outside, and plan to have lunch and dinner at the normal ours local time. ( We are not adverse to a short 1-hour nap after lunch; it has not interfered with our ability to fall asleep at bedtime.)

I usually doze a bit on the plane, coming from the west coast, and my last 2 trips had me on the ground and ready to explore by 10 am, so I stayed upright and busy until around 8 pm, then crashed. Next day I was perfectly attuned and went to bed around my at-home time of 10 or so. I fear if I got in my room and took a nap mid-day I'd be done for, so staying busy until a normal, early bedtime works for me.

All of the above, but also, when flying from the east coast, I have a light dinner in the airport and avoid the gunk on the plane. Gives me more time to settle in and try to "sleep" (even if it's only more like resting), and my body is not saddled with trying to digest the plastic mass the airline is trying to pass off as food.

Jet lag tips (this issue comes up all the time on this forum):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/jet-lag-hacks-tips_n_5232811.html

I know that you are not supposed to drink alcohol on the plane but I do and I am not usually a big drinker. I have two glasses of wine and start reading a book until I fall asleep. I pick a book that I want to read but have been finding dull and put aside. When I land, I have a coffee and drop my luggage off and do a full day of activity that involves walking around outside. If I nap on the arrival day, all is lost in terms of adjusting to the new time zone. I eat an early dinner by European standards on the arrival day and go to bed by 10:30 (which is very early for me) and the next day when I wake up usually at 7:30 AM, I am on European time.

Hi,

I would much prefer landing at 0730, rather than at 10 or 11 am. Flying straight from the east coast I have not done. All of it minus once have been flying direct from the west coast, that perfunctory 11 hrs. scheduled flight. It's longer, obviously, but then the chances of falling asleep are greater.

"...just sleep as much as I can on the plane like it is normal nighttime...." That's exactly what I do, keeping my watch still set on west coast time too so that every time I wake up I can see how flight duration is left and sleep time too. I don't recommend taking any pills. sleep naturally.

If you're normally a morning-showerer, and oyour room is ready, have a quick shower to refresh yourself. If you're a night-showerer don't do this. :-)

There is no single, proven method for beating jet lag. For years we followed the stay awake, gut it out till early evening. That never proved totally successful. Then by accident we discovered the two hour (or less) afternoon nap that just recharged our batteries enough to get us through the early evening on till a more normal bedtime locally. We have added a wrinkle that has really helps us a great deal. On the day of departure we get up very early (close to our new time) have a decent breakfast, skip lunch, go the airport very early (four or five hours early) and have a nice dinner with wine a couple hours prior to departure. Once on board we ignore everything - ear plugs, eye shades - so that we are trying to sleep within 30/45 mins of wheels up. Since we were up early, had a relaxing, big meal we are now more in the mood to sleep. An hour prior to landing, we fresh up the best we can in the restroom, have what passes for breakfast on the plane, and prepare to hit the ground running. Then follow the routine that Barbara posted. For us this our best approach to min jet lag and it works very well for us.

If you ask 100 people this question you will get probably 97 different answers... lol...
What worked for us travelling from Australia to London a few years back, and it worked very well.
Obviously try and get some sleep on the plane. Some people say don't drink alcohol but we drank heaps of champagne as it was our first overseas holiday, but we also drank heaps of water to keep us hydrated... Our main tip is to stay up to get you body on local time! We arrived in London around 11am and went straight to hotel to drop off our bags, we then went on a couple of hop-on hop-off bus tours to get our bearings. And then went to bed around 9pm. We slept till around 8am the next day, but felt very refreshed and never felt jet lagged at all...
We did the same thing when we went to Canada last year... And again worked a treat...
Enjoy your Italian holiday! :-)

On our recent trip, we did as Barbara and some others mentioned, which is basically our normal routine when flying US East Coast to France. Try as I might, though, I never sleep on the plane. We ate lunch and dinner at the proper times after arrival, did a little driving and wine tasting early in the day, then went to bed fairly early and got up at an appropriate time. Bingo, we were adjusted. Now if only i could figure out how to deal with return jet lag. It's now our 4th day back and writing stuff like this is about as complicated a thing as I can do. It usually takes me 1-2 weeks to fully recover.

Last year we landed in Munich 10:30am (also from the East Coast), caught a 1:30 or so train to Salzburg, got to the hotel around 3:30, and went straight out for a Schnapps tasting (closed at 5, and was closed the rest of our time in Austria). Then we wandered around, got an early dinner, headed back to the hotel and had a glass of wine on the roof, then crashed around 8pm. It was hot and no AC, and I was overtired so it took a few hours to fall asleep. The next morning we were fine...no jet lag.

This year, we land in Paris at 8:15am. Going straight to the hotel, drop off bags. Then if it's early enough, and we're hungry, we'll stop for a croissant. Leisurely lunch at a bistro, then back to the hotel (check in is at 1pm) to change and unpack. We need to be at the Louvre at 3:30 for a tour, then dinner around 7pm, then a drink somewhere if we're up for it, if not, back to the hotel for bed. I planned the Louvre because I knew if I had nothing planned, we'd just fall asleep too early.

My last trip I landed in Dublin at 8:30 (flight was delayed one hour). I had a long layover in Newark before the flight. I walked 5,000 steps and had a big meal at the airport. I told the flight attendant no dinner but I would like breakfast. As soon as we were in the air I went to sleep. I slept for 5 1/2 hours and the flight attendant awakened me for breakfast. I spent the morning and afternoon doing outdoor activities and attended a fairy tale dinner program. Went to bed near 11 pm and was right as rain the next morning.

For the next trip I am going to do something similar to Frank. I normally get up at 5 am. I am going to get up 15 minutes early starting 4-6 days before the trip and get up 15 minutes earlier each day. Then get up at 3 the morning of my trip. Spend some computer time at home (while everyone else is in bed), do some laundry etc. Leave for airport at 7:30 am. Again I have a layover in Newark and will follow the same routine as last time.

The biggest trick for me is that I work extra half days before my trip to pay for a business class seat on the way over. I hate flying and my neck always hurts for days after a domestic flight. The full reclining seat makes a huge difference for me. I actually sleep better with the movement of the plane (I also love to sleep on overnight trains!). On the way home sleeping isn't as important so I won't splurge on the business class seat.

There are really two component to what we commonly call "jetlag". One is simply travel fatigue, the other is true jetlag, or more accurately "desynchronization".

We all have an internal clock the regulates body functions like heart rate, respiration, metabolism, and mental acuity. It turns all of these functions up when it expects us to be awake and turns them down so we can sleep when it expects us to sleep. This is call circadian rhythm and happens automatically on a cycle of about 24 hours. When we change time zones, the tendency is for the body to stay on the old schedule, so you are wide awake when you should be asleep and, basically, asleep when you should be awake. It's like getting up in the middle of the night and trying to do something.

The circadian rhythm does not change immediately. It's affected by daylight and slowly changes a few hour a day until it coincides with the daylight cycle at your new location. The ease at which the change is made varies from person to person and time to time. I find that the more often I change time zones, the easier and quicker the adjustment takes place.

As for adjusting the biological clock, nothing works better than to get out into the sunshine when the body thinks it's supposed to be night time. That's why we say take a walk in the morning. If you wait until it's afternoon in Europe, it's already daylight at home, so your body expects daylight.

Travel fatigue is the result of spending hours in a noisy, crowded, metal tube, with very dry air, not getting enough fluids, lack of sleep, etc.

Travel fatigue is not desynchronization, but it can exacerbate it, so anything you can do to lessen travel fatigue will lessen the effects of jetlag. Getting some rest, even if not sleeping, helps, as does staying hydrated. Some people say don't drink alcohol; I say don't drink in excess but I find a few glasses of wine relaxes me and help me sleep. Finally, like Frank, I like a short nap before dinner. I've tried both staying awake until bedtime and getting an evening nap, and a nap really helps me, but everyone is different. Do what works for you.

Oh, yes. And don't try to drive while you are jetlagged. It's like driving drunk.

Excellent explanation from Lee. I agree.

"As soon as we were in the air, I went to sleep." That's the best way to do it, which happens more often than not. I fall asleep even before the plane is airborne, hopefully the take-off happens while I'm asleep. That helps to make the flight time go faster. Still, the best time to arrive in Paris or Frankfurt is ca 11 am (2 am on the west coast) as to being alert and awake, by which time since boarding I will have slept 5 to 7 hrs out of a 11 hr flight.

Even in the lay flat beds I can barely sleep on a plane. The best I can get is rest and maybe an hour or two of sleep. I am usually too excited! My mind races about all of the great places we are going and the fun we will have!

Fortunately I do not sleep much at home either - I sleep in two 3 hr shifts a night with a 3 hr waking time in between - crazy but it works for me.

So for me...jetlag...scmetlag! Just tell me what time it is and I'll believe it!

We try and get outside and in the sunshine as much as possible upon arrival. The one time I took a nap it ruined me! Took me several days to adjust. If I can stay outside and stay up until at least 8 then by the 2nd day I'm feeling pretty good.

I thought this news from a few weeks back sounded promising.
www.google.com/amp/www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/jet-lag-cure-eye-drops-travel-body-clock-long-haul-retinas-a7688316.html%3Famp