TrekkerMary

I have an upcoming flight to Europe and I'm trying to figure out my anti-jetlag (or jet lag reduction - I should say) strategy. My last two overseas trips, I forced myself to stay awake and taken No Jet Lag. This worked great in both cases. One was SFO-PVG leaving early afternoon, arriving at 7 p.m. The other flight was SFO-MAN leaving early evening, landing early evening. I went to bed by 9:30 - 10 p.m. after my arrival. Minimal jetlag both times.

For my upcoming trip (SFO-HAM), I leave 1:40 p.m. and arrive at 12:40 p.m. I can't decide if I should try stay up super late the night before, get up early, then try to sleep just after boarding since it will be "sleeping time" in HAM. I'd only sleep for 6 hours or so. Or do I try to stay awake? The reason why I'm worried about the staying awake plan is I arrive so early in the day - I have a long time to stay awake before bedtime.

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts & strategies.

BearX220

You're going to get a dozen conflicting home-grown strategies, because this is all about personal preference, but mine is: get a good long night's sleep the night before you fly, then power through the flight and the ensuing afternoon. You can doze on the flight during the brief "overnight," but only in the back half. Then when you hit the ground in HAM, it's imperative that you stay on your feet until 1000pm local, at least. Power through and you'll be fine for the whole trip. Succumb to the napping urge and you'll be out of sync for days.

tfar

It really depends on personal circumstances and everybody is different. For example it also depends on when you usually fall asleep. I am quite the night owl and don't fall asleep before 4-6am but then sleep 7-8 hours. Not a very social rhythm but it works for me in my situation. When I go back to Germany (only 7 hours of difference from Texas) I try to sleep on the plane but usually don't get more than two or three hours in. I arrive early in the morning around 8-9am. I usually go till after lunch, then take a nap of 2-3 hours. Then go to bed early. I then wake up the next morning and every morning thereafter around 8am. It's great!

What you can learn from this is that your overall sleep needs must be covered. It doesn't really matter in which morsels so long as you get your 7-9 hours or whatever you need.

The general advice against jet-lag is to set your watch to the time of the destination as soon as you are in the plane, and then try to behave as if you were already there. So in your case, ideally you'd get on your plane and by the time it takes off it would be around 11pm in Hamburg. Probably that's close to bed time. If you can possibly sleep then, do it!

The other general advice I've been reading a lot (and have followed in my example above) is to take a power nap for two hours when you absolutely can't take it anymore. You'll then be fit till the evening and bedtime rolls around. Think about it, it's a very natural behavior. Imagine you partied or worked all night, but you still have to get up early. You miss some sleep (like you will miss some sleep on the flight), you are tired. You take a nap to compensate for the lost hours and to make it till evening. Totally normal.

Till

JerryFF

I try going to sleep a little earlier each night for the last 2 or 3 nights before I leave. I also take melatonin each night just before bed time. When you get to Europe, stay awake until the normal bedtime and, if possible, be outside and get as much sunlight as possible that first afternoon and the next day.

A390

People try all kinds of fancy strategies but the best one is simply to adjust your clock and don't deprive yourself.

There's 9 hours between the West Coast and Germany. So try to get up as early as possible during the week before the trip. If it's possible, sleep after dinner and get up at 3 a.m. 3 a.m. is noon in Germany. When arriving in Germany, sleep as late in the morning as possible. If the hotel will not knock on your door until 10 a.m., then the time difference is only 2 hours.

When you get on the plane, try to sleep or at least close your eyes. Especially if the flight is from the East Coast, even skip the meal if you can sleep through it. Usually there's too much commotion but if you can, free food is not worth it.

When you arrive in Germany, if sleepy, don't fight sleep and get hit by a car. Instead, take short naps. The FAA did a study and thought that 30-45 min. naps help but 2 hour naps are too long and make you groggy.

rjque

Can you sleep on an airplane? If so, as others have mentioned, that is the best way to deal with this. Sleep as soon as you can after takeoff (better living through chemistry, if necessary) and then try to stay awake as late as possible when you arrive in Hamburg. If you get solid sleep on the airplane, hopefully this won't be a problem.

If you can't sleep well on airplanes (like me, even in C/J), then you might consider taking a flight that gets you to your destination later in the evening. The SFO-MUC flight on LH is perfect for this because it gets you to MUC in time to catch the last bank of connecting flights and then deposits you at your final destination at the very end of the day. You're exhausted when you arrive, so you go right to sleep and wake up at a normal hour the next morning. The only time I have ever had zero jet lag when arriving in Europe is the few times I have managed to get flights that arrive later in the evening.

waterstrider

I agree with the get up earlier before the trip approach. For recent trips to both China and Dubai (from IAD), we got up an hour earlier each day for the few days before the trip. By the day of departure, we were up at 3am and half-way there on adjusting. Then try to sleep at the correct time for your destination on the flight. Once at destination, force yourself to get up and out early if your jet lagged tendency would be to sleep in- that sunlight really makes a difference! So basically, my strategy is a little of everything suggested- every little bit helps.

BearX220

The OP's proposed itin makes inflight sleep hard because she's got a 130p departure -- who can think about retiring for the night at that hour? It's easier when you're leaving the west coast at 600p or 700p after a full day at the office... you have dinner, doze for a couple of hours, get to your destination at 200p or so, then you only have to stay on your feet for about eight more hours until you can go to bed properly. With the OP's plan, it's harder -- and there has to be a conx in there somewhere? SFO-FRA-HAM? -- so she'll be in a transit lounge or something @ 900a or so local time. I would try for something that leaves and departs later also.

eponymous_coward

I also vote for power naps at your destination. Unless I have an empty seat or three I can spread into, I don't sleep well in Y, and both my TATL trips have been next to guys who are as broad in the shoulders as I am. My strategy has been to check into the hotel early, set an alarm, sleep 2-3 hours and then go out and be busy during the rest of the day and into the evening, and retire at a normal time for my new time zone (even if it's stupidly wrong for the West Coast).

Winston Churchill used to do something similar during WWII- a siesta in the middle of the day, and staying up very late and getting up at a normal time (8-ish am), and he was able to do quite well on that sort of schedule.

There's very little going out of the West Coast to Europe at those hours, though. Almost everything going West Coast-Europe nonstop of the US is timed to arrive/depart in the morning in Europe, which means you'll end up leaving the US early in the day unless you connect somewhere in the US with later flights going to Europe... and even then, I went SEA-DTW-FRA on NW and while the DTW segment left at 4 pm their time, that was 1 pm my time.

rives21

After many, many trips to lots of timezones and crazy schedules - my strategy is simply to sleep whenever and as much as possible. In other words, take it when you can get it. If you're on the plane and you can sleep - then by all means sleep. And when you get to your destination, if your schedule can accommodate a nap, then yes, take it.

MflyerCVG

when heading TATL I take a few benadryl as soon as I get on the plane, by the time they kick in, dinner usually has been served and i crash for ~6 hours. I generally wake up just in time for landing and am ready to power through the day (usually with the help of plenty of coffee). I usually don't get too much of a hangover from the pills, but everyone is different so I think each person needs to come up with their own combination of sleep/sleeping pills/wine/warm milk that gets them ready to go upon landing.

BTW if you have some time in HAM, check out Groeninger Privetbraurei near the Messberg U-bahn stop, awesome bierskeller atmosphere with live music (generally a strolling accordian/guitar player) amazing german food, and some of the best beer in Germany

TrekkerMary

You guessed correctly - I am flying SFO-FRA-HAM. So I do arrive in FRA at 930a and leave at 1130a. I am really hoping for a shower in the SEN lounge to revive me. Plus, to make me smell better before meeting my friend in HAM. Unfortunately, I can't change flights at this point so I'm stuck with what I've got.

Thanks for the tip on the brewery MflyerCVG! It sounds great.

oneant

Agreed with the above posters on the later depature being easier since you'll be ready to sleep during the flight. In your case, I think you're right on with trying to get in a shower in FRA. Really helps me to clear the head and rejuvenate.

I personally don't do the powernap thing though. At your final destination, just force yourself to stay awake until local bedtime (~10pm is a good spot for me). Get out there and stay busy--it'll keep your mind off the fatigue. Then crash hard that night and get up the next morning at a reasonable time (~9am).

The westbound TATL flights mess me up more than the eastbound ones since you never see the night fall. Feels like midnight when you land but it's 4pm.

BearX220

That's the ticket. This is the one true path. ^

danielonn

Two days before you leave make sure that your bags are relatively packed and ready to go. The night before your flight go to sleep around 8:30PM and wake up at 4 AM and stay up until after the meal service on the flight. Sleep for at least 6-8 hours on the plane and drink 2 glasses of orange juice at each service. Avoid coffee until the breakfast service and only then drink 1 cup. Avoid caffeine or alcohol after 3 PM Then stay up until 9 PM that night and go to sleep. Upon arrival take a lukewarm shower and do not sleep if you can help it. Make sure you get exposure to sunlight to reset your clock If you need your nap then set your alarm for 1 hour but no more. Enjoy lunch and dinner and if you need take an Ambien on the first two nights.

You need 8 hours- 9 hours of sleep on the first two nights. Be sure you go to sleep by 9 and wake up by 6 or 7 you need to set your alarm clock for this hour as this will resist you to oversleep.

BTW Cut out salt before the flight. Eating a carb breakfast with protein before your flight or even pasta will help you to sleep on the plane. Do not drink coffee or alcohol 48 hours before the flight if you are a light sleeper.

On the plane request a vegetarian meal and you will be serve first. Also when you arrive eat light meals consisting of yoguhurt and salad so you won't feel bloated.

Good luck and I hope it works.