Help Needed for Jet Lag

This subject has gotten quite a bit of discussion here. Everyone is different. What works ro one person probably will not work for another, although some do. Homeopathic compounds help some people. Personally, I used to use scotch whisky before the liquids had to be put in small containers. A good glass of whisky would help me sleep on the plane. I think as a person travels more the problem of jetlag decreases. Whatever you decide to use you should try out before you get on the plane, like a week before, so you can see what it does to you.

Right. Try it a week before. Very fine idea and I agree with it. But I can't because I'm flying in two days. I know Rick Steves is big on Ambien, so I may well try that. My only concern would be, if I'm sleeping I won't be able to keep drinking water. Hmm. I can just gulp a lot when I awake.

Boston to Paris??!! Piece of cake. Try my usual LAX to Europe night flights. Personally, two Tylenol PM's do the trick. ( U could probably get by with 1 capsule) That's after drinking water, using the restroom, walking around the cabin, listening to some chapters of a book on tape, listening to some classic music and out I go. Wake for breakfast, get up, stretch, walk around the cabin of the plane again, restroom to freshen up, coffee, water and I'm ready for the adventure that awaits.

Ken, A lesson here: plan ahead. Before I would take Ambien, Lunesta or any of that stuff the first thing I would do is do a little coputer reseach on the drug(s). You might well be a person who would sleep walk in the middle of the flight, go back to the galley, and order a hamburger. Don't laugh, this is serious stuff. Claudia, If I may say so, as an older married getleman, you sound like the perfect traveling companion.

I was really hoping to sleep walk and fly the plane. Perhaps Tylenol PM would be a wiser, lower tech. approach.

Lets remember jet lag is not the same as travel fatique, but of course they piggy back.
I fly from west coast like Claudia,, and yes, those extra couple of time zones can screw a person up , but I find it helps to set my watch to local time the minute I get on the plane,, and try and live like it is that time. So light meal( since I don't eat a heavy meal in the middle of the night normally, lol ) water, washroom, drugs of choice, and try to sleep for 4-5 hours ( its the best I can do).. then when I arrive I force myself to live on local time, no nap, but an early night, and a very light afternoon planned, just some walking about in the daylight, trying to reset poor screwed up body clock. I personally find jet lag much much worse as I age,, I don't remember having it at when I was younger .

Agree with the others about taking Tylenol pm and not Ambien, especially on a plane. Also, bring an eye mask, ear plugs, and most important of all one of those sleep pillows that goes around your neck so your head can just plop and not be jarred awake when it falls. This allows your neck to relax so you can doze. As long as my eyes, ears, and neck are taken care of, the rest is a piece of cake. I eat and drink everything. Jet lag has practically disappeared over the years. I'm tired the first day, but adjusted by the second. It's only six hours difference. BOS-CDG is the best route you can get from the US, practically a local bus. Enjoy and remember Claudia on her long over-the-pole haul and those of us in the middle of the country who have three hour flights before we can even switch planes to our European-bound flights in BOS.

Talk to your doctor, not a bunch of strangers on an internet site who do not know your medical history and can not physically examine you (but as you fly in two days, it may be a little late for that). Every medication, whether prescription, over-the-counter, or unregulated "supplement" has unique benefits and disadvantages. What is appropriate for one person may not be suitable for another. As a previous poster noted, everyone here has there own routine that they have probably worked out through trial and error. I'll tell you what works for me, although it's anyone's guess if this will benefit you: I take jet lag as a fact of life and I work around it. I give myself a dose of Ambien that I know will keep me asleep for most of the flight. This isn't so much to fight jet lag, but to kill time on the plane. I shower and take a 2-3 hour nap when I arrive. I expect to be tired most of the day, then go to sleep at a reasonable hour, and sleep a little later than normal the next day. I'm usually more or less adjusted by day two.

@Monte, thank you but don't be fooled. Merely delusions of adequacy on my part.

At this late date, I think it's foolish and dangerous to experiment with any drug on your flight - which is exactly what you'll be doing if you try any of the "remedies" suggested or contemplated. Boston to Paris? Come on, you should be able to handle that standing up (hey, in a few years, we'll probably all have to do that...). I recently suffered through a 10 hour flight in tight coach seats, with not one but two screaming babies who started wailing before takeoff and never stopped for more than 10 seconds. Even with good ear plugs, eye shade, documentaries on the iPad, soothing music on the iPod, I never even got close to nodding off - even though I had been awake for 2 days before we got on that plane. Regardless of whether or not you're able to nod off on the flight, when you arrive just try to stay awake until dark. Then sleep deeply and you'll wake up OK the next morning. Resist the urge to nap during the day. Stay up until dark again on the second day, and you'll be fine. US east coast to western Europe is nothing. Try flying to SE Asia a few times and suddenly flights to Europe become short, easy hops.

I don't take anything to sleep. I am super sensitive to meds like NyQuil an Benedryl. One tablet and I am out, but it takes about 6 hours
To shake off the druggy feeling. So that would be worse for me. We nap for about 2-3 hours and next day we are okay. By 3rd day, we have more energy.

I've flown to France many, many times and am no stranger to jet lag. Boston to CDG may be nothing to some, but it's something for me. Ear plug, eye mask and neck rest are at the ready. One thing I see mentioned here that surprises me is to take a nap up to three hours after you arrive. I always thought anything more than an hour or so was the kiss of death.

I NEVER sleep on a flight, unfortunately. But, in May when we traveled, for the very first time I took an Ambian - it did NOTHING. I was awake the entire time. On the way home, I took an anxiety pill and a dramamine and slept for 2 hours - first time ever in 20 years of travel where I got any sleep at all on a flight, and it felt wonderful. I don't recommend this necessarily, but it worked for me.

If you feel this topic is one that warrants medical attention, consulting your doctor would erase your anxiety. I agee that from the east coast to Paris is a piece of cake, ca. 6 hrs with the wind at your back. That's same time duration if I were to fly from SFO or LAX to New York. I try to book a flight that's going 10 hrs direct to Paris, or Frankfurt, if not London. That way my sleep won't be disturbed. My suggestion is to lay off the pills, OTC etc. I've never taken these OTC pills to induce on a flight, except for the No Jet Lag a couple of times, (dropped it after that), rather stay awake than rely on a pill to induce sleeping. Just doze and fall asleep after the meal. With age that could be a factor in getting jet lag. In my twenties I know did not suffer from it after a 10+ hour flight. That still depends, I went through the jet lag effects 20 years ago upon landing. But not any more in these last few trips.

I'm not anxious about jet lag. I just don't like it and was wondering if there was a way to minimize it. I'll see how it goes.

A comment based on personal experiences. Lots of things you read say avoid alcohol and caffeine. Consider this in light of your normal habits. If you normally drink 3 cups of coffee a day (or 3 Diet Cokes, LOL), going cold turkey at 35,000 feet is going to give you a zinger of a headache and aggravate the jet lag something awful. If you normally drink coffee in the morning, go ahead and have some on the plane when they serve breakfast. I think this actually helps convince my body it's "morning." If you normally have a nightcap, go ahead and have one before you go to sleep on the plane (don't overdo it, of course). Your body is probably used to it, and following your normal "bedtime" pattern will help you rest better. (My dad swears by this.) Drinking extra water will compensate for any accompanying dehydration just fine.

Many flights overseas and I would never sleep. Purchased a good pair of noise cancelling head phones, put on a movie I have seen before (so I don't get caught up in the outcome ) and in a few minutes I am asleep.... feels just like when I am home.
If I am so exhausted I can't stay awake I will try to doze outside when I arrive... like a park bench, bus, or beach, but if I were to go to bed for a nap it would be all over...I even dozed during Les Mis in London....by the next day I am right on track.

Well, I'm in the last couple of days of my vacation in France. Tomorrow we drive from the Lot to a little town and b&b north of Paris so travel and car return to CDG on Friday will be easier. The trip from Boston to Paris turned out to be ok. I couldn't believe it, but I had an exit row with more than enough legroom. Worth what those vultures at American charged me. I took a 5 mg Ambien, used my eye mask and ear plugs, and believe that I slept for a little while at least. I was tired when we arrived, but not living dead tired like bad jet lag can cause. Not sure if 5 mg was below the normal dose, so maybe a 10 would work better. On a trip to France I took two weeks prior, I followed the same regimen, only didn't drink coffee the day I travelled. I know that I slept at least three or four hours. This seemed to work for me. Your mileage may vary. Thank you to everyone for your good ideas.

Now this is where real jet lag kicks in - you'll be waking up at 3:00am and simply.passing.out. at 7:00pm LOL! Good luck with THAT! Of course, I'm with the West Coast contingent that says 'pfffttt' to you, Mr. East Coaster - you and your quickie little jaunts across the pond ;-) Hope your trip was great!

Although your flight to Europe is over, some information for future reference. If you can find a copy of the current edition of Travel & Leisure magazine, there's an interesting article there on dealing with jet lag. In the author's somewhat "unscientific" study, he found that the homeopathic remedies (such as No Jet Lag pills) didn't work for him. I'm heading for an appointment at the Gym, so don't have time to provide a synopsis of the article. Will try and revisit this Thread later. Cheers!