Jet Lag

I travel yearly from LAX to Europe. Jet lag is inevitable. However, I do set the watch ahead at LAX, take Tylenol PM on the plane to induce sleep, stay hydrated without booze, and hit the ground running when I arrive at my destination. NEVER nap. Get settled in my accommodation and then right out the door to explore the neighborhood. Locate nearest metro, bus, tube, stop, coffee shop, pharmacy, etc. Then stroll about seeing some sites but no museums. A museum on my day of arrival sucks the air out of me. Good hearty dinner and to bed by 10pm. Raring to go the next day.

I'm in Seattle and the time difference to that part of Europe is a pain, but, here are my tips- 1) As soon as you get to the airport in LA, set your watch to Italy time, and eating, sleeping, and THINKING according to Italy time. (although eating at the right times may be difficult since you just have to deal with whenever you get meals on the plane). It really does help. When you get to Italy, don't think about what time it is at home. 2) It might be really hard, but you need to stay awake the first day. Going to bed early (7 or 8) is probably inevitable, but stay up as long as you can. 3) I always take pills to help me sleep on the plane- allergy pills that make me drowsy, or night time cold medicine. Hope it helps, good luck!

When we land in Europe, we check into our hotel, find a coffee shop for an espresso, and force ourselves to get moving right away. The caffeine, plus the excitement of being in an exciting new place, helps energize us. We always have a plan for sights we can see that don't require figuring out metros or buses. We have lunch, and make our way back to the hotel in mid-afternoon for a short siesta. (Set an alarm, and sleep for no more than one hour.) Then we get up, walk some more, have dinner, and try to stay awake until 9 pm. The next morning, when we awake, we find we are on Europe time and can function almost normally.

Well, just be glad that it only takes you 2 days to recover! Takes me much longer! In any case, I hope you have a great trip!

This is a well discussed items. Use the search function to find the prior discussions. In a nutshell, we try to time shift at least three hours and maybe four if we can. For the two weeks prior we begin to get up earlier and go to bed earlier and shifts meals by the same time. An hour shift every three or four days. On the day of departure we function entirely on European time which means getting up about 2 or 3 am, and keeping to that schedule that day. Arrive at airport early and have a evening meal close to European time. Once on the plane, we settle in with ear plugs, eye mask, and ignore all activity - movies, food, etc,. Generally we are pretty tired since we have been up since about 3 am. Get as much sleep as we can which isn't much. About two hours out the plane with start to wake with a little breakfast service which we take. Freshen up the best you can. We hit the ground, check in, and explore the area around the hotel. Avoid anything that requires you to sit down or ride - instant sleep. Around 3pm will catch a map for a max of 2 hours. and then back out in the sunlight with a dinner around the normal European time of 9pm. The next day will be a little unsettled but by the second day we are well adjusted.

Get plenty of rest in the days before you leave home! Your sleep schedule will get goofed up because of the flight, but you won't be exhausted once you arrive there and can function on a not-quite-full-night's sleep. Then, get on the ground and moving ASAP! What are you planning to do b/n 9:30am and 3:00pm? Are you traveling on to another town after arriving in Rome? Wear yourself out that first day, but gently, ie no major tours or climbing bell towers LOL! Just get your feet wet, but don't ask too much of yourself the first day or two. You may pay for it for days...:-( Expect to wake up at weird times for a few days...it's probably gonna happen. THEN, think of me - doing my same ol', same ol' rountine around here...pinch yourself that you're in Italy, then go back to sleep ;-)