drpabs

In August mrsdrpabs and I are off to NAN for a couple of weeks and are stopping over in SIN on the way. We are flying in F, natch. For various uninteresting reasons it is quite important that we do as much as possible to get over the jetlag occasioned by the 7hr time difference as quickly as possible. With that in mind, I am considering trying the following plan, and would appreciate any opinions as to its feasibility:

(Note that I am not going to be at work on this day)

BST 0500 Get up and immediately switch watch to SIN time (i.e. BST+7 = 1200) and go for a walk outdoors and then to the gym. Afterwards go for breakfast at a local cafe and pretend this is lunch

BST 1930 Arrive CCR and eat meal

BST 2135 Depart LHR and order F meal but state that I don't want it served yet and I will let the CC know when I do

BST 2300 Go to sleep

BST 0600 = SIN 1300 Get up and request meal

SIN 1740 Arrive SIN

SIN 0000 Go to sleep in SIN hotel (Raffles, since you ask)

------------------------

We will be resting in SIN the day after we arrive and then will push on to Fiji the morning after that (to stay in Tokoriki and Likuliku for those who are interested in such things).

We will return from NAN via HKG and I don't envisage much of a problem with jetlag for the 12h 45m westbound flight which departs HKG at 2305 (on the A380, hurrah!).

Anyway, does my plan sound reasonable, or does it sound daft? I am intrigued to hear how more seasoned LHR-SIN flyers cope with the jetlag and indeed am particularly interested to know how people have got on with ordering F meals for delivery much later.

Cymro

I haven't done LHR-SIN but I have done LHR-KUL on multiple occasions, albeit in J or W rather than F. (It does take off a little earlier, however).

It sounds eminently sensible, although I wouldn't bother with setting my watch forward until I was on the plane.

When I arrive in KUL at around 4 p.m. I'm usually a little groggy anyway, though I've been awake for two or three hours at that point. No alarm, I just go with the flow and the cabin seems to wake up organically anyway. That lasts until the early evening, then by 8 p.m. I come alive for about four hours, and am ready to sleep by 1 a.m.

If you're thinking of skipping lunch altogether, I'd probably arrive at the CCR even earlier and look to get my head down as soon as wheels are up. However, I typically have the option of sleeping in until about 9 - 10 a.m., which helps. You don't say when you need to be up the next day.

HKG-LHR is pretty easy, I agree.

TheEyeTie

Try JetLagRooster (http://www.jetlagrooster.com/).

I use it every time I fly longhaul, and never experience any jet lag.. Last time was SYD - I started the plan few days ahead, and when I arrived in Sydney, I had no jetlag at all.. One caveat though: you must follow the plan religiously, even if that means wearing sunglasses at odd times of the day...!

Globaliser

Forty years of regular flying between LHR and HKG (similar distance and time change) have taught me that you can't beat jet lag. This is because a major part of it is your circadian rhythm, and your body clock is simply going to adjust to the new time zone in its own sweet time. You can try sleeping at times when your body doesn't feel like sleeping, and waking up when your body is craving sleep, and some people manage to do that very well. But it's very personal, and for some people it's always going to be hard work even if you do manage it.

If you're determined to reduce jet lag, what you can do is:-

• [*]
• [*]
• [*]

Much of this is incompatible with enjoying the onboard F experience to the maximum. So I sometimes give in to the F experience, but then I expect to enjoy the full jet lag experience afterwards.

I've never had a problem with ordering F meals for whenever I want, though.

Swanhunter

YoucanMt

bibbju

Yikes, that all sounds like rather hard work!

I used to live/work in HK so spent much of my time flying back and forth between Asia and the UK or Asia and the US. I tried various methods of avoiding jetlag but there seemed to be no consistency in when I suffered from jetlag and when I didn't. There is nothing more irritating that having done all the "right things" and still waking up at 4am and only feeling sleepy just as it's time to get up!

So I learnt not to bother. I slept and ate (and drank alcohol) when I wanted to on flights (or pre-flying) and I had a much nicer time! A friend of mine who used to commute weekly LHR-JFK-LHR never gets jetlag and he told me he just pops 10mg melatonin at bedtime at his arrival destination and that sorts him out. So I tried it a few months ago when I flew LHR-OSL-LHR-SYD-MEL. I went to bed around 8pm local time and was straight on to local time the next day with no jet lag. I thought it might just be luck so tried the same thing when I got back to London. It worked again. My friend says it MUST be 10mg of melatonin. All sounded a bit bonkers to me but it definitely worked. I'm a convert.

Stez

I agree with these two posters, there's no rythmn or reasons to jetlag on a long haul trip.

However, in my experience, I find the effects of jetlag is generally less severe if you eat lightly from the evening before flight, and up to the morning after arrival at destination - combined with plenty of water. Forget booze, etc.. as Globaliser pointed out, or at least minimise it as much as possible if it doesn't impact on your F experience.

But it's a very personal thing, some people find their own secret after many years of flying, others find it quickly and there are those that never will (I include myself in the latter).

I find getting straight to work or into activities as soon as I land in Australia the way to beat most effects of jetlag. But others can't bear the thoughts of not going straight to a dark hotel room and sleep on a real bed.

Best of luck on your trip - personally I'd go and try and enjoy the F experience as it's part of your travel.

above the clouds

Has anyone tried this before? I did, with only minor success, and it's not exactly the most exiting way to enjoy a longhaul flight:

https://hbr.org/2009/05/a-fast-solution-to-jet-lag/

Here is a quick summary of what's in the link:

(...)
The researchers reason that because food is as essential for survival as sleep is, hunger can influence circadian rhythms as much as changes in light/dark patterns do.

So, why not manipulate your feeding clock, rather than your sleep clock, the next time you try to fend off jet lag? Specifically, as Saper has discussed in the press, you can try fasting both before and during your long flight, then eating in a pattern that puts you in sync with local time. For instance, if you’re taking a 14-hour flight from New York to Beijing, it would work like this:

Avoid all food from the time you get to the airport (i.e., about two hours before departure)
Don’t eat during the flight — but still drink plenty of water
Eat soon after you land, as close to a local meal time as possible
(...)

Sixth Freedom

I did exactly this and here is a picture of the tasty meal that I got:

corporate-wage-slave

It does sound like hard work!

LHR-SIN isn't too bad for jet lag if you are sensible. I don't get jet lag anyway, and one reason why I personally prefer CW since the sleep ethic is more ingrained in the service there. I never take drugs. What I would do is start to wake up early in the days leading up to departure, 6 am, 5 am, maybe even ealier, going to sleep when your body tells you.

Eat a bit less than normal on the day of travel, try and stay a little bit hungry throughout, eat simple carbs rather than complex proteins, no alcohol, plenty of water. Sleep when you want to, ideally early in the flight, but don't force yourself. But when you arrive in SIN do plenty of outdoor stuff - swimming is really great for this - to keep going until 22 hrs or so.

Jon Baker

I've never found the late night SIN/KUL flights particularly an issue - no real prep needed, just sleep the first half of the flight, get up the second half.

Just don't, whatever you do sleep for the whole flight (seems like you have that in-hand) because then you wake up at 1700 local-time after 14-ish hours of sleep and that is a bad move!

skba1

I do a lot of Asia flights, and as long as it is an evening departure from Europe (the earliest I do is the BA31 to HKG at 18.40, and late services include SIN, BA 27 to HKG etc.) I never really have any jetlag. You can either go straight to sleep and up 'early', or if your body clock is more like mine I tend to eat and then go to bed around midnight European time.

All depends on whether you prefer your days to start 10 am and go to 2 am or if you are more up for 6 am to 11 pm

I sometimes drink alcohol and sometimes not, but the real key is drinking water! I go through at least 3-4 0.5 litre bottles plus the glasses served with meals during a longhaul flight 10-13hr duration.

bafan

I'd just enjoy the flight and deal with any jet lag at my destination, if it arises.

And, is Raffles a hotel of note then ?

stevie

Like others I travel regularly to Asia. One of the biggest factors is flight time for me. Early flights to PVG/NRT/ICN are very difficult as I nap when I arrive in the hotel. This puts me out of sync straight away.

For early HKG arrival I make sure I go for a jog or a good swim, then stay active for the rest of the day by working and then later a walk. I do not drink any alcohol the first night and have a lighter dinner. Asleep at 10pm and hope I can sleep until 6am.

This works 50% of the time, the other 50% I wake at 3-4am and struggle for a day or two. It is what it is. If particularly jet lagged I try to grab a nap if I have further flights or long drives. I also think the stresses of business meetings and further work travel contribute to jet lag. On holiday I am more relaxed and sleep better.

Good luck and have a nice holiday.

gypsyjaney

Will you be using the new Fiji Airways SIN-NAN route? I am hoping to try it before too long. Love Fiji, very envious.