Why do so many Americans seem to get jet lag?

Not enough vegemite in our diets, mate.

You are flying west; US folks are going east.

And when you do fly west to go home, you are going home and can just crash.

Maybe you mean, why do so many Americans talk about jet lag?

Maybe it's because they got so furious when their Organic Vegan entrees were not loaded for the Economy cabin?

We often feel tired depending on how much sleep we got on the plane, but never anything that would stop us enjoying our holiday from Day 1. After a good shower and a night's sleep we are ready to go.

After a night’s sleep, it is day 2. How do you feel on day 1 before you get a shower and a good night’s sleep?

A lot of flights from the U.S. arrive in Europe in the early morning. You have a full day before you get to sleep. I’m fine on day 2, but day 1 sucks after an overnight flight.

My preferred flight to London is a daytime flight that leaves around 8 am and gets to London around 9pm. I go straight to the hotel, get a good night’s sleep, and am ready to go on day 2.

If you don’t have any issues with jet lag, consider yourself lucky. I recall when I went to Australia being totally exhausted from 24 hours in transit and waking up in the middle of the night for days.

How do you feel on day 1 before you get a shower and a good night’s sleep?

We feel dirty and tired. 30+ hours in the same clothes is not a pleasant experience, but feeling tired is not jet lag.

I recall when I went to Australia being totally exhausted from 24 hours in transit

Yes, we are tired when we arrive but do plan an early night for night 1 and don't book anything for the afternoon we arrive. We usually just get to our hotel, have a shower and then go for a walk.

You are flying west; US folks are going east.

On our last trip we flew east from Tokyo to London and didn't have jet lag. We also have never had jet lag flying from Australia to the US which is flying east.

We do always change our watches to the time in our destination and try to sleep according to our destination time zone.

Well, Tim, I don't care about the organic part and I don't get furious if my vegan entree isn't loaded but I am disappointed. I learned early on when ordering the vegan selection to back up with food of my own. Why would the airline even offer it if there weren't the expectation of it being served?

Maybe we talk about jet lag so much because most people are used to flying domestic flights and don't have that issue. Many who post here are also first time International travelers and have no idea they might not feel like visiting museums on their arrival day.

You've got us all beat with the 45 hours. My usual time from leaving my home to arriving at my hotel is 22-24 hours and yes, I'm affected.

Is there something about American airlines or direction of travel that makes the flights more arduous than from Australia

I get jet-lagged on Lufthansa, British Airways, Icelandair, and, when they were flying, Norwegian flights. So it’s not just American airlines (including American Airlines).

But as joe32F mentioned above, flying east, somehow, makes all the difference. When coming home, flying west, no jet lag! Coming home from Nepal, long ago, and flying eastwards, resulted in the heaviest jet lag ever.

As one gets older, too, the jet lag seems to be getting worse.

Jetlag and being tired are not interchangeable concepts (being tired can have many sources, whereas jetlag is pretty specific). Jetlag is not an American thing, it's a human thing that happens when one's internal clock gets out of synch due to travel to a new time zone(s). So everyone gets it, but people vary in their experience of it, their management of it (e.g., trying to get as much sunshine as possible when they land), and their reporting of it or complaining about it. It also depends how much you can do before your trip to slowly reset your internal clock to a different time.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/jet-lag/symptoms-causes/syc-20374027

I get jet lagged with Daylight Savings time.

I always just assumed I was blessed. Not even sure what jet lag is? Being tired from a long trip? Or unable to vote with the new time zone? I just get to my accommodation, take a shower, and go out and have a normal day... yes, I'm a bit tired but serviceable. Then to bed at the normal hour and the next day I am absolutely normal.

But maybe my body tolerates it better? No idea.

I think it all depends on your age, health, cabin class, and the type of aircraft you are flying on. I travel to Europe a couple of times a year from the midwest. The best flight for me is the day flight out of Chicago on the 'Dreamliner." arriving at around 10:00 pm in London. When flying East you are advancing your internal clock and your Circadian rhythm gets out of wack more so than any other direction.

On some level, even though traveling east from Australia to North America or Europe, you’ve crossed the international Date Line, so are suddenly in an earlier time zone than at home. Even if the plane’s not flying as fast as the earth is turning, it’s still relatively early where you land, and so, there’s less lag time.

We are tired on arrival day, especially when we arrive early in the morning, but we plan a full day of activities and walk 6-8 miles after our first night’s sleep. Although we used to pick up a car on arrival, that no longer seems like a good idea and we haven’t done that on our last two trips.

Two things.

First, what Agnes said above. People use the term "jet lag" for being tired after (what is for them) a long flight. That's not jet lag. That's (mostly) plain old exhaustion, simply being tired from lack of sleep. There's also the accumulated stress of pre-trip tasks and troubles (gotta pack, gotta get extra work done because you're daring to go away from work, gotta deal with family and house issues, gotta plan, gotta do all those things on your pre-travel checklist)...all that accumulates, then you skip sleep so you can pack, you get no sleep on the plane because you love cheap tickets and the airlines give you that by squeezing seat pitch...you land in a strange place where everything's different, and the result is....no, not jet lag, I call the mix Geospatial Displacement Dysphoria and it's real. Jet lag may hit you a day or two later, but that's not what you're experiencing as you wander around your destination city in a fog, waiting for your hotel room to allow your check-in and get some real sleep.

Second...most Americans have never experienced a really long flight. US east coast to western Europe? Come on, that's not even long enough for a full length movie and a snack! Try flying from the US east coast to New Zealand, or from Alaska to South Africa, or from anyplace to some tiny little island four-stops deep in Indonesia. I've spent three straight days on flights and through airports, eventually finishing on a speedboat hurtling across a dark ocean and eventually disembarking on a tiny flyspeck island where the only lights were from tiki-torches. I was so ready to not be moving for a while, I didn't care what you called what I had. Try flying from home to some little-known place on the opposite side of the planet, then we can talk about how painful your flight to LHR or CDG was.

Many on this forum are retired, but if not, you might be tired before you even got on the plane, due to having worked extra hours before missing work for those vacation days. For many jobs here, the work you would have done if you hadn't gone on vacation will still be waiting for you when you get back.

Contrary to most of the replies above I do not get jet lagged flying east from the US to Europe. I land, put in a full day and get to bed about 9-10pm. The next day is like any other day at home as to how I feel physically. Now, going home flying west I am completely out of sorts for at least 2 or 3 days.

When flying east to Europe, I always plan on not getting there until around noon. Forget those 6:00 a.m. arrivals in Europe--and having to wait 8 hrs. to get into a hotel.

I'll take an afternoon nap and wake up at 6:00 or 7:00 and go out for dinner. Then come back and hit the bed early. Come to think about it, that's exactly what I do most days at home--since I'm retired.

And you don't hear of me complaining about anything. I'm on vacation where I want to be--and it's not in hot Orlando at Mouseland.

I get tired after flying east from W. Canada to Europe, but I get actual jet lag after flying west home again.
When I arrive in Europe, I can stay up till about 8pm if arriving morning or afternoon.
I think it’s because I’m thrilled to finally be there so I push through.
When I get home, I’m a zombie for at least 8 days, needing to go to bed at 6pm for a few nights!
Now I’m retired that’s ok, but it was awful when I had to get back to work, and shift work, no less.
A friend’s young child always referred to jet lagged as jet-logged.

I get tired flying from the west coast of Canada (yes Canadians get jet lag and tired too!) and feel it arrival day but am better the next. This is from missing a night’s sleep as much as anything; I feel equally as tired if I miss a night’s sleep at home too but as I’m not navigating airports and a new place, it isn’t as big a deal. I get jet lagged returning home because my biological clock takes some days to adjust to the time zone change; not only do I wake up at 3 or 4 am, but my (TMI, I know) bodily functions are on a different schedule the first week back so that wakes me up…..

Maybe Australians are built of sterner stuff. This American, with Finnish immigrant grandparents, is always exhausted and disoriented after the overnight flight to Europe. All I ask of life is a car service person holding a sign or screen with my name on it to take us to our first night's lodging.

I must say that when I read about how some travelers describe their experience of jet lag (to Agnes' point, above) I feel fortunate that, although my own experiences with it vary, I do not experience it to the same degree that they describe.

My carcadian rythems synch ok going east to Europe. I arrive fatigued from a long travel day with too little sleep, but that’s easy to deal with.

Coming home, spending a week feeling exhausted at 8pm and waking up at 3am. That’s when I suffer.

“I get jet lagged with Daylight Savings time.”

@ Confuso, lol, me too. The dumb thing is that I am retired. I can go to bed and get up any time I want to (except to catch a flight!) and it still bothers me. I did better when I was working at least for the fall back change when I changed my wake up time by 15 minutes every few days ahead of time.

OP,
Did I read in one of your posts where you like to travel where Americans do not?

I suffer on both directions. I don’t sleep on planes going east. Returning west, I wake up at 2 AM for days.

David from Seattle said, “Jet lag may hit you a day or two later,” and in fact, Day 3 of a trip, the second day after I arrive, is the worst jet lag day. Such is travel with high-speed transportation. I imagine that passengers sailing on the RMS Queen Mary in the previous century didn’t get “Ship Lag.”

OP,
Did I read in one of your posts where you like to travel where Americans do not?

That was said with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. It's an Aussie humour thing.

1. When going on to Europe from the USA the jet lag is more significant when flying east into Europe than when flying west back to the USA. I believe the time change is more significant.

2. We have taken long flight, like a 14 hour flight from Atlanta to Tokyo, flights from JAX, Florida to Atlanta, then LA, then 14 hours to Sydney, then five hours to Perth. Also, we have flown from JAX to Atlanta, to Chicago, then 14 hours to Beijing. I have more I could list, but those were some of the longest. All of them did us in, probably the worst was the one ending in Perth that involved four flights an a 9 hour layover in LA. Lack of sleep (I don't sleep well on airplanes) and changes in air pressure are factors other than time zone change.

Also, the older I get (I am now 75), the less that I want to take long flights, especially long flights back to back.

All of our family is very different in how jet lag affects us. We fly out of Seattle, and going to Europe I am good the first day, but my husband crash and burns by 5pm. I actually can sleep on a plane though. Our son is like me and is fine, our daughter and sons g/f don't quite crash and burn as hard as my husband, but they are done after an early dinner. The next day we are all good to go. Flying home though, I am the worst. It takes me a good week to overcome it. My husband usually takes a day or so, and the kids vary. My husband and I have both been like that for as long as I can remember. Our family ages range from 29 to 58.

My impression is that so few seem to realize a big difference between jet lag and simple fatigue.

I don't think the regular contributors have many problems, but traveling is new for some of the people asking questions. And for various reasons, Americans travel much less than the Europeans. In fact, job structure gives few people the opportunity to travel. New experience.

I hope to visit Oz in order to personally enjoy the humor! Thanks for the response.
My thought on jet lag, Pavlovian American response culturally considered to be part of an overseas trip. Yes, it is real but I find seasoned travelers speak less about it than annual vacationers.

Aussies are better morally, physically, and spiritually. Better-looking, too.

Perhaps we've gotten a little too plump and soft over here.

I love the humble brags.

I did better when I was working at least for the fall back change when I changed my wake up time by 15 minutes every few days ahead of time.

That's a good idea - I may try it.

Daylight Savings time changes times of my meals and bedtime. So I'm hangry and tired. It takes a week for me to get used to it.

In terms of real jet leg, worse was going to India. 13 hours ahead. All of a sudden lunch is at 1am and then you're in the middle of a meeting that feels like 3am to me. This is after a day of resting, of course (so not tired from the trip).

And when I'm used to the time zone after 6 days, back to Seattle.

I think the timing of the flight has a lot to do with it too. When I have a daytime flight from Gatwick to Tampa, leaving at 11.30 am and arriving at about 6pm Tampa time, it’s 9 or 10 pm by the time I’ve driven to my friends’ house, I’m ready to have a quick catch-up, a snack and then to bed, waking up the next morning feeling great. Unfortunately the flight back (only 7hrs, usually) is overnight, i rarely sleep and spend the next few days wandering around like a zombie. I’m sure the difference between going east-west or the reverse makes a difference, but I think the excitement of arriving on holiday makes a big difference too. Arriving back in London, usually in winter, with work looming? Bleh…

A very good question here. My view is that not everyone gets jet lag.

I land quite refreshed flying in to Paris, London or Frankfurt given the 11 hour non-stop flight in Economy from SFO. Sleeping is key to arriving not in a daze., no OTC meds or any sleep inducements...don't trust them, don't need them. As a result, I don't get the jet lag. I can always count on the sleeping, how many hours is another matter, the longest on the 11 hour flight I've been able to get is 6.5 hrs. I much rather take the overnight flight from SFO arriving ca. 10AM than one shorter, which breaks up, interrupts my sleeping pattern on the flight. That happened once going from Seattle to London , a shorter flight than the longer one from SFO to Paris or Frankfurt, which I'm used to.

In 1995 I did land in Paris ca. 2 PM from SFO, felt a bit strange, as it was different from my accustomed time of arrival at 10 AM.

I don't know how I would feel after a non-stop flight of 14 hrs or more, haven't had that experience yet.

I don't know how I would feel after a non-stop flight of 14 hrs or more, haven't had that experience yet.

QANTAS offers a non stop flight from Sydney to London - 23 hrs 30 mins. It doesn't seem to have been very popular as fares are cheaper compared with flights that stop somewhere on the way. Our very fit, early 20s nephew did it and said "never again" as he ended up with a terrible backache and took a few days to recover.

We have opted to break our flight in Singapore. It will add 4 hours but we get to walk around for a while.

When I get around to flying to Japan (as China is now out of the question) for a vacation / visit and experience a non-stop of 16 hours plus from SFO, I'll know whether jet lag is hits me or not. Going to Europe from SFO has no effect on me regarding jet lag, provided I sleep and have a hot meal, etc.

What one sees at SFO are the departures at midnight to Asia, ie, Hong Kong or China, long lines of Chinese of various ages taking those flights at that time as if they have any other choice. I wonder given the factor of jet lag and a very long flight, 16-18 hrs. I wonder if they are so adversely affected.

Fred, I have good news (or maybe bad news, you decide).

From Seattle, it's actually a shorter flight to Tokyo than it is to continental Europe. I'd expect it to be similar for SFO.
(Seattle to Tokyo is almost exactly the same as Settle to Frankfurt; SEA or SFO to Tokyo is shorter than to Rome or Milan.)

I know, mentally it seems like a much more epic challenge to cross the Pacific than getting to Europe, and that's how I felt before my first Japan trip (it's certainly a bigger cultural change). But once you do the trans-Pacific to Tokyo (or other cities in northeastern Asia) it'll seem a lot closer than you had thought.

Now, Bangkok, Singapore or beyond is a long way (but so is Istanbul...).

@ David...Thanks for that info. When I do fly to Tokyo on that bucket list trip, most likely the dep will be from SFO.

That time I continued to London from SEA-TAC was due to a layover of 5 hours from SFO to Seattle. It was surprising to me doing that Seattle-London flight since it was shorter than what I had expected.

Not everyone is affected by jetlag.

I'm not American but I do suffer quite badly from jetlag. It doesn't matter which direction I fly, what cabin class I'm in or how much sleep I manage I will always suffer. That means serious fatigue, waking in the early hours, nausea and headaches. Some symptoms often last several days.

If you don't suffer with jetlag then count yourself lucky.

We always fly to Munich (once to Frankfurt and once to Zurich) on overnight flights. Never had jet lag. When we get out of the airport I’m too excited to be where I am maybe? I LOVE that feeling. Yay, we’re here! I’ll normally drive to our first stay, no more than 2.5 hours from the airport. Feel fine all day yet will go to sleep early, around 8 or 9pm. Wake up the next morning feeling good. What truly bothers me and my system is the flight from Munich to NJ. Can’t get used to that time change. It’s why we always fly home on Friday, so I acclimate enough to go to work on Monday.

Your average person is not able to go with only 4 hours sleep in 48. (As one of the poster says he does). If you are able to do that you are either young or unusual.

I have always read that in regard to jetlag: "West is best and east is least". I know I read the scientific explanation for this, but don't remember it now.

My experience is the opposite. I am happy to see that many others experience it similar to myself. I am wondering if it is because we tolerate more when on an exciting adventure and tolerate less when in our normal routine. I don't consider the fatige of the first full day in Europe landing in the morning to be anything but lack of sleep and a very long day. Like others, I go to bed a bit early and feel fine getting up the next day. But after coming home, not every trip, but several of them, I wake up at 3 am and can't get back to sleep. Then I feel foggy brained at work and out of sorts.

I only have jet lag issues when flying west. It hasn't been an issue so far going east. Has anyone noticed their jet lag symptoms get worse as you get older? Mine sure have.

I explained the "West is best, East is least" theory to a taxi driver in Amsterdam about 20 years ago.

When I was working, and my employer sent me to Europe, they never made any allowance for jet lag. "Fly to Paris, rent a car, drive to the jobsite, have a meeting, get to work". I once had to fly to Scotland on a moments notice, have a meeting where the Scots insinuated that if I did not get my employer's equipment working as expected, they might just send me home in a pine box and I would have no further jet lag issues.

Easily 20 hr. for anyone flying from the West Coast to Europe. Yet sometimes, the walk from the airport in to town, can take a bit of time. :)

We had a couple of my daughter’s Aussie in laws in town over Christmas. They were indeed very jet lagged for over a week. Nationality has nothing to do with jetlag. Consider yourself lucky that you haven’t YET experienced it. You never know which trip it will strike and now that you have made this broad announcement watch out. LOL As ‘they’ say, never say never.

Sam, I'm right there with you, buddy.

Whether in the Air Force on a deployment or late on business, we were expected to "rest" on the way over and be ready to go after landing. It was not easy trying to be mentally alert and focused while in a bit of a daze.

No, it's not just a human condition. Aussies are simply tougher. Period. :-) Look around. Americans have gotten soft, bloated, and weak.

Wray I am guessing they are inner city dwelling, coffee wankers who have have smashed avo on toast. Tell 'em to sprinkle a bit of rapidset concrete in their Milo and HTFU. A disgrace to the Aussie culture.

No, we are Canberra dwelling retired public servants. No avocado in sight. We prefer eggs benedict.

Americans have gotten soft, bloated, and weak.

Hard, slender, and strong American retirees with youthful appearances and full heads of hair are plentiful.

AussieNomad, eggs benedict? Seems rather hoity toity.

AussieNomad, eggs benedict? Seems rather hoity toity.

Not all Aussies eat steak, Vegemite and beer for breakfast. Canberra is like upper west side NY, not Compton.

Ongonos, LOL, They actually live on the ocean an hour or two from Sidney, and they are avid cyclists. However, they are vegetarians and have been for at least 40 years, so likely love avocados.

I often flew from Bgm to Bejing. Depending upon connections, these were 30 plus hour days. When things went off the rails the trip could much longer than that. I was never particularly bothered by anything more than you would expect from sitting in a crappy EcoPlus seat for that long. Upon arrival I would get room service (no eggs benedict, carbonara is a dish all Asian chefs have mastered), shower and then sleep for the few hours remaining. I would hit breakfast early trying to avoid the feeding locusts at the breakfast buffet if I was staying in a westernized hotel. If it was a Chinese accommodation, congee with vinegar, white pepper, thousand-year egg and pickled mustard root are my thing. From there I would be in transit to customers, clients, meetings, what have you. After a full day I would get dinner and then return to do email, conference calls, etc. Generally, I would turn in around mid-night. I never had "jet lag" although my routine would make me dog tired on my third day.
I never travelled to Australia, but both of my sons did. One attended U Taz in Hobart. They also did not experience jet lag. They had more of a problem with excessive consumption of local beers.
I don't generally take pot shots at people from particular countries, but having seen it all. I could go down that rat hole. Suffice to say, at the end of the day, there are those who do, and those who don't. Except for the background, the wash brush is not a good tool for painting in details.

I used to fly on United’s early flights from San Francisco to Europe. I would get into London or Paris around 7am. Like others the excitement of being there would have me wide awake and I was off and exploring. It’s a tough first day as I would stay up for the whole day. I’d hit a low point around 2pm and just start to feel sleepy. After 2 hours I would get a second wind and stay up until 9 or 10 before turning in. It would be extremely rare for me to wake up in the middle of the night and be wide awake.

I’ve since stopped flying on United and now get in late morning or early afternoon. Much easier to stay up the rest of the day. But I have noticed that it’s more common for me to wake up and be wide awake in the early morning hours. I’ve learned to just relax and I’ll fall back asleep shortly. It’s not clear to me if it’s related to the new arrival time or just me getting older and reacting differently in general. I might have to try the early arrival again to see. And there’s also a later arrival that might make a difference.

Of course Aussie's get jet lag. All humans have a biological clock, and Australians are reportedly human. What you have is a no whinge culture. Except about whinging, Oz whinges endlessly about whinging.

Suffice to say, at the end of the day, there are those who do, and those who don't. Except for the background, the wash brush is not a good tool for painting in details.

Loved this!

Mack, it's fun to take pot shots at other countries and states. I've heard plenty of jokes about West Virginia and the U.S., and they can be pretty funny if you can lighten up a bit and laugh at yourself. Comedians have been making a living doing this for thousands of years.

Ongonos, that's what I'm talking about! Regarding the t-shirt, you know locals around here because they will have mustard and ketchup stains on their shirts, along with some mystery stains. (Be careful with the bacon, processed meat and all, and the fat clogging up the arteries.)

Here's a West Virginia joke: "How do you know the tooth brush was invented in West Virginia? Otherwise, it would be called a teeth brush." haha!

Big Mike, I actually learned to love West Virginia once I figured out that the way around the 3.2 beer sold at the local corner store is to ask for a shot of whiskey from the bottle hidden behind the counter. Suddenly it all started to fall into place.
If I did go down that noted rathole, Aussie tourists would be very high on my list of miscreants, very high, like near the very tippy top.

Well a lot of people also make mistakes like not drinking enough water, drinking alcohol, are excited and can't sleep...

But if you really want to use science to help you, if you are someone like me that does not shift naturally well, use the Timeshifter app - developed by doctors based on research from astronauts. We used on the on the International Space Station all the time and found it made a world of difference for my wife and I.

But you HAVE to follow it. That means things like restricting coffee or drinking it in certain windows, going to sleep as instructed which (sadly) sometimes means you have to skip dinner... etc - but the first full day you will only feel like you didn't get a full night sleep but you will be much better off.

Mack, I know some places to get some real moonshine, but for the uninitiated that could be a bad idea, or a fatal one.

Ongonos, in Appalachia we also hear a lot of the married to sisters and cousins stuff, or some variation of stomping through the woods with a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a shotgun in the other. This is all silly because no self-respecting West Virginian would be caught with a bottle of Jack.

It's still OK to make fun of hicks and rednecks. Usually the joke is quite crude, but there are plenty of clean ones. For example on a trip to Pittsburgh to watch the West Virginia University Mountaineers play the Pitt Panthers, one Pitt fan said, "You folks get here on your tractor?"

Bob: Thanks. I'll give that app a go. On my first overseas flight someone suggested having 2-3 drinks and then sleeping it off. Really bad idea. Not only didn't I sleep, but I felt like a dried-out raison upon arrival in Frankfurt.

Big Mike...I hear you about Jack...low octane fuel for beginners. I actually have some high-octane fuel in my freezer. It must be kept away from flames...
WRT a few nips before flying, for a short trip like from the US to Europe, it's generally a bad idea to get too carried away. A beer, a glass of wine, a small bottle of what have you, OK, go for it but remember, to avoid the Aussie curse you need to hit the ground running when you arrive. Best to be only tired, not also toasted.
Flights to and from Asia, SE Asia are a different story. Have a few drinks, eat the food, stay awake for the first 4 or 5 hours before falling to sleep for a as long as possible. That has always worked for me. If you can sleep for half of a 14 or more-hour flight, what a blessing. Coming home from Asia, I stop in the lounge and drink a few glasses of wine, have bourbon or a scotch. While everyone else is noshing on the noodles and dumplings, I'm having a few drinks. Once we are on the plane I'll have another nip and then sleep most of the way home. I have never had jet lag.

So very true on sleeping half of the 14 hours but since going over from SFO is a scheduled 11 hour non-stop overnight flight , then I had better get 6 hours, which most often is the case, sometimes otherwise a little less. No alcohol until dinner , then a little red wine with that meal, to be followed by the usual cup of coffee to top everything off. Then it's time to sleep . Doing all that I don't get jet lag upon landing . It's not a given that everyone does. Getting the sleep is the key.

Because we don't have the stamina-you know you Aussie are always fighting crocs or snakes in the outback.

Generalizations are usually quite wrong.

Yep Heather I just threw another croc on the barbie after a brief wrestle.

Nearly half of Australia's population live in/around the 2 biggest cities of Melbourne and Sydney where there definitely aren't any crocs. Most of the rest of the population live in 3 other major cities.
The "outback" has between 2 to 3 % of our population depending on the varied definition of what it constitutes.
Aussies are mostly urban dwelling.
Shhhh. Don't want to destroy the Mick Dundee myth.

"This airline says it’s figured out how to reduce jet lag"

Research findings by Australian airline Qantas and the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre released today show it is possible to reduce the impacts of jetlag by reshaping the inflight travel experience.

Different lighting and sleep schedules, mealtimes, and specific ingredients like chilli and chocolate during long-haul flights have been shown to contribute to improved traveller wellbeing. Movement and exercise are, unsurprisingly, a key element.

https://wapo.st/3CEvl3S

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/world-first-research-shows-ways-to-reduce-jetlag-ahead-of-qantas-sunrise-flights/

This airline says it’s figured out how to reduce jet lag"

Now that is a Croc.

"Reducing jet lag" is like "contains cheese products." How do you quantify that?

As someone cursed with not being able to sleep on red eyes and don't want to live on Europe time the week before traveling, I've found the best thing to do is simply sleep well prior to the trip. Get yourself as rested as possible with a good diet and hydration. Everyone has a bad night's sleep once in awhile, so I just chalk up the flight as one of those nights. Upon arrival no more than a :45 minute nap. Those limited naps make a world of difference in how I feel that first day.

I have always had jet lag on my trips to Europe for the first day, coming from the US west coast, though I do try to make myself sleep on the way over. Walking around in a fog, slow response time, low energy--until I have been there a full day and night. My longest flight to this point has been Australia, and that was quite a long time ago--2006. Next year I am going to Vietnam to attend a wedding and kind of dreading spending that much time on a plane--both on the way over and on the way back.

I have to agree with BigMike with the 45 minute nap if you can upon arrival. Its great when you can check in to your hotel take a nap and a shower and get outdoors to walk around. Jetlag seems inevitable for me so I just try to deal with it as best I can for the 1st day.

I've found the best thing to do is simply sleep well prior to the
trip. Get yourself as rested as possible with a good diet and
hydration.

I've got a friend who travels all over the world all the time for work. Her philosophy is not to pre-adjust to time zone changes, but just be well rested. Also when on arrival you can't sleep at night to "lie there with your eyes closed." Because "you can't sleep if you don't lie down and close your eyes."

I wish I was similarly uncomplicated ....

Upon arrival no more than a :45 minute nap. Those limited naps make a world of difference in how I feel that first day.

Agree with Mike.

And the key is to limit the nap. You want to be a bit refreshed and functional, not fully rested. That you do when its local bedtime.

Perhaps one example is if you have a big event the next day, like say a 10K race or whatever that has you a bit excited, you may not sleep well the night before. I've found the body adapts just fine as long as you've slept well the week prior. The night before running a marathon sleep was scarce at the hotel. It really didn't matter.