jet lag - a different approach question

There are people on this sight who adjust their eating and sleeping schedule. I'm sure they will post for you. I only eat carbs for breakfast on the morning that I leave. The rest of the mornings I eat protein (and carbs). I read somewhere that carbs in the AM help with jet lag. I also used to forgo caffeinated coffee that morning.

But most importantly, and fortunately, I take the day flight to Europe. This way I don't have the fatigue that overnight flights create. Consequently, I only need to adjust to the time change. But you could only do that if you stayed overnight on the east coast, which I would do as I feel it is worth it. I then stay overnight at the airport and travel to my destination if by plane the next day, late morning. I don't want anything interfering with my sleep. I find by not having a miserable transportation schedule, I am less apt to become exhausted or sick and I can enjoy my trip from the get go.

hw, yes, I've heard multiple pre-flight strategies around to help prepare for jet lag. What I know requires a lot of self-discipline starting a few days before the trip. People think its just a matter of getting no sleep on the flight over, but its not - its adjusting your body clocks to a different 24-hour cycle. So one basic thing you can do is start adjusting your body clock by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. Keep you eye on the clock and note what time it is at your destination. That would be your target for what time you want to be on, before the plane leaves. The same with meals. Try to move the time you eat breakfast and dinner up a bit at a time until you are close to Europe time. That includes meals on the plane. Don't confuse you body by eating on home-time while on the plane. Avoid alcohol and caffeine for a few days before the trip. Don't do what many do on the plane - watch movies, eat, drink and have stimulating conversations.

I don't have the self-discipline to do all that, and its not always practical to change your daily schedule that radically. But it is possible.

For me, the easiest jet lag remedy is to stay hydrated. Our daughter is a flight attendant - and she reports it is the first topic learned in "flight attendant training". Drink eight ounces of water per hour. They probably know what they're talking about.

The only thing that has helped me is taking the daylight flight to London. The one I am usually on leaves EWR around 08:00 or 09:00 (depending on daylight savings) and arrives at Heathrow at 20:00 to 21:00. Late enough that I can have a late dinner/snack at the hotel near the airport and get to sleep at a decent hour local time. I then get up and go on my way with minimal sluggishness. My only issue is being in EWR to catch the flight. I have to fly in the evening before and spend the night because nothing leaves early enough to get me to EWR in time for the morning flight. If I am not on that flight, I just suffer through jet lag until I recover.

I find being well hydrated really helps me with jet lag after I arrive in Europe. When I get to the airport in Atlanta, I buy 2 large bottles of SmartWater containing electrolytes and vitamins (I think) and drink those while I'm waiting at the gate before boarding. Or, bring one on the plane to finish up. Really helps me. Plus, I'm able to sleep a few hours on the plane.

Then, I usually take a shower and a brief nap, maybe 2 hours, in the hotel if my room is ready. Then up and out walking in the daylight with no schedule to meet. Then an early dinner and early bedtime. The next day I'm still a little jetlagged. 2nd day, almost no problem!

Unfortunately, I don't have the flexibility of extra days to fly to an airport that has daytime flights to Europe. That does seem like the perfect solution.

It's coming home that bothers me. I seem to pick up a bug on the flight home and end up sick for a week. Ugh! A friend told me to use a saline nasal spray to keep my nasal passages moist. Next trip I will do this! Hope this helps!

I'll second (or third) the advice about the importance of hydration. In the past I didn't drink enough water because I didn't want to be going to the bathroom all the time, but yes, you will feel much better being well hydrated. It's worth a couple of extra bathroom stops.

Rick's pre-flight advice, which works for me, is to leave home well rested. Pretend your flight leaves a couple days before it really does so you get all your chores done well in advance of your actual flight. That leaves those last couple of days relatively low key.

Other than that, stay well-hydrated on the flight, sleep as much as you can on the flight, and when you arrive resist a nap so you can stay awake to a reasonable local bed time.

These strats work very well for me. I never have jet lag issues on my first full day in Europe.

My best preparation to avoid jet lag is to book a flight that gets me to my destination around dinnertime....

so that when I arrive I should have time for a short wander around and a light dinner then go to bed. I'll usually wake up around 5am, so my first full day is a great day to book a morning tour or activity. And skew everything that day very early, including dinner and sleep.

I get a full first day without losing it to jet lag.

I do usually try to prepare up to a week or two ahead, I focus on getting lots of rest, improve my eating habits and try to walk more, since there will be lots of that, more than my typical day. I also start edging my sleep earlier and waking earlier, in the purely anecdotal belief that I can alter the time shift from 7-8 hours to 5-6 hours. Add to that, when traveling, I tend to stay up later than my norm and wake later as well.

As a result, when I do this I seem to adjust better than if I do not, it may be more mental prep than physical, but it works. The only trip I really had a tough time adjusting was to Greece, we spent a good part of the day just enjoying the beach and laying around, that sleep just did not come at night. I suppose we were supposed to stay up all night dancing as others did, but just not my style.

I guess I should mention that I rarely sleep much on the flight over, do drink water, as well as enjoy an alcoholic drink or two as well. Once there, I stay active, get in the sun and fresh air. I stay away from any medication, melatonin, vitamins or other remedies; just adapt to a normal schedule. At the most, if I am arriving early morning, I might have a short nap in the afternoon, something I have been known to do at home.

My goal for surviving day one on the ground is fly from west coast to Europe (no stops on the east coast) so I land late morning to early afternoon.

The day I fly out I go for a long run so when I get to my economy seat, I am physically tired. And not being a natural athlete, my brain is on board with being tired. I pop on my noise-canceling headphones and get a few good chunks of sleep.

Flying west (home) is usually where jet lag really gets me. I can't sleep on the plane as it is usually day time.

First, don't confuse jet lag with sleep. You will be very tired until bedtime upon arrival. I found these things will help a great deal with jet lag.

1. As others have stated, hydrate. No caffeine or alcohol 48 hours prior to flying or during the day of arrival.
2. Keep your regular hours of sleep. Don't try to manipulate your body just prior to leaving home.
3. The night before you leave have a high carb dinner.
4. On the day of your arrival have proteins only during the day. For your dinner meal eat another high carb meal and eat as late as you can. Continue to hydrate well during the day.
5. On the day of your arrival, try to stay outdoors in the sunlight, but don't overdue the walking. Too much exercise will have a negative affect on your ability to rest comfortably that evening.
6. Try not to go to sleep before 9-10 local time.

This works for me, but this doesn't guarantee it will work for everyone. All people are different.

The OP asked about preventing jet lag - i.e., before arrival.

To avoid jet lag upon arrival after a flight of ca 11 hours, I sleep on the plane...makes no difference if it's day or night flight. The amount varies, just my luck. I don't do anything special, differently, no preparation, etc on days prior to departure.

When the sleeping is good, I get 7 hours or so by the time of arrival, definitely no jet lag at all then, no exhaustion upon arrival going to Immigration and Baggage Claim.

If I'm not so lucky, I get about 4 hours, which enables me still to function but, obviously, not quickly or efficiently as having had 6-7 hrs.

Once on board, strapped in, etc, I focus on sleeping. Don't watch the movies after dinner, resist that temptation, focus on sleeping.

Bottom line, I am not beat, exhausted, groggy, jet-lagged at the destination after the SFO or OAK flight over.

Yes, that is basically what I do, and it has made a real difference.

I do three things: diet, light control, and melatonin.

For a long time I followed the let-lag diet developed by the Argonne National Laboratory. It's fussy and weird, but I feel it helped some.

But on my last trip I tried fasting, which was simpler and at least as helpful. (Fast for 16 hours. From the east coast: fast starting at 10 AM departure day. Have a huge breakfast before that.)

I also try to minimize exposure to light after 6 PM departure day. I'm not sure how helpful this is, but acknowledge that i do not do this very rigorously. There is room for improvement on my part.

The most effective tool for me is melatonin. Most people think of this substance as a sleep aid, but it really isn't. It is a clock-setter, and that is the name of the game when beating jet lag.

Most doses of melatonin that you can buy today are much stronger than needed for this benefit.

Thanks everyone for your ideas. Stan was right that I am wondering what I can do before our flight. Now that it's getting warm, I should go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Two hours earlier makes my get up time 4am. That's the best I can do. Even the wild bunnies that I feed aren't up that early.

I had a problem on the second day years ago with jet lag in Ireland. I took a nap on the bleachers at the Dublin Horse Show before the Nation's Cup began then enjoyed the rest of the day. Our schedule in Rome is light with only one early tour per day.

Thanks for your advise and keep the ideas coming. I cannot sleep on planes, maybe a two hour doze at best. My sister-in-law can sleep anywhere, so she says.

Edited to add: I’m going to take Advil PM in hopes it will help me doze. I’ll need Advil for my back anyway when sitting so long. The stay hydrated advice is a very good idea.

I just stay awake the whole flight. Going to the States, it means going to bed at a regular time of 23:00 or so and getting up at 6-7. Jet lag doesn't seem to be a problem for me going this direction. I may go have a nap during the next few days, but I do that on a regular basis at home anyway. Coming back to Germany, I will take a short nap after arrival, but then go to bed a bit early, like at 20:00 or so. No jet lag problems.

Can't do melatonin. It caused me to have the most horrific nightmares the 3 times I tried it, like nothing I had ever experienced in my life.

I schedule evening trips to fly abroad. I know some people in other parts of the country can't or don't want to.

I plan the flying day with as little stress as possible. I get a good night's sleep the night before. I'm all packed, luggage at door. I'm able to have a nice breakfast, double check a couple of things and then go to the airport.

I get to the airport wayyyy in advance. I'm there ahead of the desk opening up, lol.

With Boston traffic, you never know what you'll find on 93 South or approaching the tunnel/airport exit.

Since I'm so excited and amped up going to Italy, my happy adrenaline is in full swing. I don't drink any alcohol or coffee right before or inflight. I don't take any sleep aids. I drink a lot of water. I may have a little ginger ale with my flight meal but too much can be dehydrating.

I'm pretty much a light sleeper, so I don't count on falling asleep like I'm in hibernation for 7 hours. Plus, I like to know what's going on around me; especially in a plane. I close my eyes sometimes and rest a bit. I've rested at half hour intervals. Something, maybe subconscious,? keeps me from going deep. I may listen to tunes, watch a movie, chat a bit with a seatmate, read/review some things on my Kindle.

'they' say setting your internal clock to the time of your arrival destination before travel will work but given that I work, I cannot be getting up at midnight.
I don't improve things by leaving after work at the end of a work week.
I also have found travel has become so unpleasant that even when no time zones are involved (to South America) I still have 'jet lag'. It usually requires early, early flights so getting up at 3 a.m. to get to airport, which means I haven't slept well or long enough.

I may need to try electrolytes. Thanks for that suggestion. I do use ColdFX during travel and seem to avoid flight illness, but adding electrolytes to my water might be what I am missing. For those interested, I use Nuun soluable tablets (put into the bottle) or MiO squirt drops that you can get at the grocery store. They also offer a 'sports' variety. Bring from home and fill your water bottle after security.

I may need to try electrolytes

Oh ya, Maria, I forgot about those. I take a few slim packets with me. Even if I don't use them on the plane, I carry one while out and about day traveling.

Staying hydrated is always a good idea.

You can move your bed and rise times up an hour or two, gradually before your trip to make the change less drastic. Melatonin may help you get to sleep a little earlier than normal.

My biggest thing is during the flight. I know I need some sleep if I'm going to have a functional first day. I have a blow up pillow, eye shades, ear plugs and ear buds ready. I set my watch for local time at my destination when I get to the airport - and think only in that time zone after that. I take a melatonin about 30 minutes before boarding. Once on the plane, I don't worry about meals, entertainment or anything else. I get comfortable and get some sleep - or at least as comfortable and as much sleep as possible.

Ideally I'll hit the ground with six hours sleep but I feel I can survive with anything over four.

After that it's stay active and stay awake until a decent time, then another melatonin and bed.

Adding to others.

The last two trips to Rome, I arrived around late lunchtime. Got my stuff and was at my hotel within a decent time. I settle in, unpack. Take a shower, etc. Then I walk around the neighborhood a bit and go to dinner around 8-ish. I hang around the restaurant until about 10-ish or later, (it varies and if I'm engaged in convo) and then walk back to hotel.

Get ready for night night. I may read on my Kindle a bit, check out some things for the next day. When I awaken, I open the french door windows and take a deep breath of cool air. I listen to the sounds of Rome waking up. Love it, lol. But, I've been in December. Past trips to Italy were in the Autumn and was still warm.

Maybe you can't get up at midnight (as Maria says) on the days before you leave, but if you can shift your clock by even a few hours before departure day, you will have an easier time with the rest of it.

The OP asked about preventing jet lag - i.e., before arrival.

I don't think prevention is possible. Your body must physically adjust to a very different timezone and change to your routines.

It may be up to the individual, but in my view prevention is possible in that when you land, be it after a 6 or 11 hr flight, you are not jetlagged. How you do that is another story.

Sleeping is the preventive measure to take.

Don't over think it...that's the best preventative advice I can offer. I travelled millions of miles before I retired. I rarely had a problem with jet lag...the key (for me) is to accept the time zone you are in. Embrace it. Allow yourself to become one with where you are without concerning for where you where. If it's breakfast time at home and dinner time in the new time zone, it's dinner time...period. I always find that the folks that struggle the most are the ones that obsess. "I should be eating breakfast, its time to go to bed". No, it's dinner time, it's time to get up and go. Don't give in the the urge to let it get the best of you. When you come back to your home time zone get right back into your normal schedule...immediately. Go to the gym, go to work the next morning, get back on track and stay off the couch. It's in your head....take control.

Before our last trip to Europe I quit all caffeine for a week before the trip - no coffee, sodas, Excedrin, etc. The first couple of days were challenging - did this over a weekend so I wasn't TOO grouchy at work. After that my body adjusted. Our flight arrived in Frankfurt mid-afternoon. Had my first cup of coffee with the "breakfast" meal on the plane. The caffeine kicked in and really helped with the jet lag.

Quitting caffeine for a week before departure is one element of the jet-lag diet developed at the Argonne national lab.

Oddly, the diet calls for consuming at least one strong cup of copy the evening of departure when traveling eastbound. Caffeine in the evening shifts your clock ahead (towards Europe time).

I confess I never follow that part of the program.

At meal time sometimes I take a little red wine too, (depending what it is), certainly not the whole bottle, plus a cup of tea or coffee at the meal's end.

I am retired and I normally wake up at 4:00am anyway, so it's relatively easy for me to get most of the way onto Italy time. It's sort of weirdly fun, too. Takes me ten days to do it. By the time we depart, I am waking up at midnight, which is 7:00am Italy time. I've done this for the last four trips and no longer have jet lag. It used to be bad.

I can never even doze on the plane, so I would be TIRED on arrival except that my being-in-Italy adrenaline kicks in.

It's important to eat meals according to the schedule, doing everything earlier and earlier by only 15 minutes a day, and not to rush it. Once I did go way too fast and actually felt jet-lagged here at home: woozy, sick to my stomach, stupid, and just odd.

Watch out for Daylight Savings Time, which is not on the same days as in the US. Also, stick to the schedule on the flight and do not eat or have caffeine in "your" middle of the night.

I just started taking time-release melatonin before and during the last trip and that does seem to help, too. I still take it every night. The regular melatonin did nothing for me.

Coming home after four weeks in Italy is beastly --- I am jet-lagged for up to two weeks. But I would hate to be fussing around with any schedule while on vacation.

I hope this helps someone else, but I admit that it is kind of maniac.

I’d just like to make one additional point about hydration: You can start it several days before your flight, and make sure you’re really thoroughly hydrated before you even step on the plane. My sister does a retreat where she alternates days of eating and drinking with days of no food or drink, and she has found that if she drinks enough on the eating/drinking days she will be fine on the non-drinking days.

I'm a bit of a weirdo but what's always worked for me (your mileage may vary!), as silly as it sounds, is to not sleep at all the night before my flight to Europe. That leaves me so zonked out and tired on the plane that I'll sleep through the entire flight. While plane sleep is never entirely satisfying, it's enough to hold me over for my entire first day in Europe so I can fall asleep at a decent hour the first night there, and reset my sleep schedule.

Anyone try No Jet Lag pills? It has good reviews on Amazon.

Admittedly, I have tried them a couple of times going over years ago starting on the summer of 2005 trip. I didn't know any better then, The last time I used those pills was in Jan. 2007. on a non-stop flight SFO to Paris....never used them since, stopped it for various reasons. I don't go by reviews, not interested in what is said in them.

I gradually shift my bedtime/wake up time to about three hours earlier (I live on west coast, so I end up on east coast time). I fill the early mornings with trip prep - cleaning, packing, etc. I am unable to sleep soundly on a plane, so I mentally prepare for not sleeping - some how it is less frustrating when you know you won't sleep well. I have tried various sleep aids and the No Jet Lag pills - nothing really seems to work for me. I use ear plugs, eye shades, and hope for the best. Because I travel solo and prefer an aisle seat, I almost always have someone crawling past me from middle seats, so even if I do sleep it is disrupted.

From my home airport it is very difficult to find a flight that gets to Europe in late afternoon / evening, so I almost always arrive morning or mid day. I usually drop off bags (check in if they will let me), if particularly tired I will take a one hour power nap, shower, and head out for a walk and meal. I build in time to my trips so I don't feel guilty if I end up with an early bedtime the first night.

I would love ideas how to deal with the return jet lag, which is WAY worse for me. I'm a walking zombie for at least a week.

Big Mike, it depends on whether you have faith in the basic theory of homeopathy.

There is actual academic research that says that most online reviews of any product are fake.

Fred and Stan, thanks.

There are as many approaches to jet lag as there are people on the planet, but after reading this thread perhaps the following will help everyone:

1) hydrate, and not just the day of, but previous days
2) sleep, eat, pack, organize, and rest well in the days prior to travel
3) a bit of exercise on travel day as you will be sitting for a relatively long period of time, and exercise helps you feel better anyway... personally I like a hard workout so I'm ready to sit on the plane and relax, maybe sleep if I'm lucky, but not real sleep
4) set your watch to the local time at takeoff (or sooner) and adjust mentally to it with eating, sleeping, morning tea/coffee, etc.

5) if travelling east and arriving at, say, London at 0700, limit your napping as much as possible so you will be ready to sleep by 2100/2200
6) stay outside that first day, preferably walking... sitting on a bus or most anywhere and you will nod off
7) be cautious of advice that comes across as a bit extreme or faddish... what worked for someone else may not work for you, at all

Thanks everyone for all your ideas. I'm starting to work on a couple of them, like going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. I use to get up at 3:30am when I was a stockbroker to be at work when the markets opened. Living in AZ and spending time outside I drink lots of water, electrolytes and EmergenC to survive the heat. But eliminating caffeine for a week, now that's a push.
We leave in 10 days. I'll let you know how I survived jet lag.

Exercising and staying hydrated is sound advice for any day not only for the immediate days prior to departure. I don't do anything special on the day or two prior to departure, sometimes changing what I bring in terms of long sleeve shirts last minute because I can't make up my mind after I had already packed everything. Then it cuts into my sleep.

Still, no sleep aids, OTC or prescription, No Jet Lag pills, no melatonin, etc ...none of that stuff before or during the flight....sleep naturally is the key.

If you drink a cup of coffee at 7 a.m. or whatever, and you arrive in London around the same time, have a cup of coffee. It's what you do normally at that time of day.