sweetsleep

I have used the Timeshifter app for several years and it really helps if you follow the plan. Even if you cannot follow it exactly, it still helps a lot more than doing nothing.
I do not know if they still offer a free trial for 1 trip or not anymore but the annual subscription is about $25. The more you travel long haul, the better that deal is.

baldguy

Sleep right away on the flight. Drink water and take Hydrate tablets.

VancityAir

I recently flew from YVR (Vancouver) to DEL (New Delhi), and the time change there is 13.5 hours. What helped me is as soon as I got on the plane, I changed my watch to IST and slept and ate according to that time. I also found it helpful to land later at night as I could go to bed quickly and wake up somewhat in line with the local time. I was essentially fully adjusted on my second day there. Hopefully, this helps!

rstruthe

As soon as I get on the plane I change my watch the new timezone and then use melatonin according to that timezone. I find this really helps. Also I try to eat in the lounge before flying so I can sleep at the right times and not worry about when meals will be served. If take off is late at night at the destination, I don't wait for meal service, instead go straight to sleep. On ultra long hauls you can usually get a snack when you wake up to tie over to the next meal service.
Using the timeshifter app helps, but often my work schedule doesn't allow following it. I can only really use it if flying on a Monday so I have a few days to sync up.

redblaze

I think planning enough activities that will fill up your regular schedule based on timezone of your destination is important. Also don't fall into sleep at wrong times, just force yourself to stay awake so you may adjust to local timezone a bit quicker. My experience is if I don't have much to do at destination, then when I want to sleep based on my own body clock, I may just tend to surrender and fall asleep, which is not helping at all.

john_ny

I hate the feeling of having jet lags. But I will take note of this one. Thank you!

YVR Cockroach

I have a tough one coming up, due to the somewhat-novel (for flights of the general route) departure time. Flight leaves a little after noon west coast N. America, and arrives in Europe early the next day, so early it won't even be midnight the time zone where we left (and pretty much spent almost all of past 4 years). Been affected by jet lag the past decade that I've been flying to the point I love ship travel where there's many time zone changes.

Any suggestions for this flight time parameter? In the past for flights on similar routes, I've gone to sleep after the first meal (flights in the direction generally leave mid afternoon to mid evening which is more sensible) and I do better with late flights. Have a 6 hr layover before the short-ish connection to the final destination.

LapLap

This seems similar to our flights from London to Tokyo.
The trick is to make your afternoon flight into a late flight. See if there is a way you can succumb to a nap the day before and stay up all night.
Travelling with an infant I found the jet lag issues for LON-TYO trips were becoming an insurmountable problem. We then made staying up the night before into a routine and, bingo, never been an issue since. Now I find adjusting to the TYO-LON change a little harder than the LON-TYO despite it all being much easier in the homeward direction without the self-imposed pre-flight exhaustion toll.
As with so much else related to travel, less of an eventual cost if you can pre-pay.

chokeman

I was very happy with my first experience using the Time Shifter App. Basically it gave me a sleep/nap/wake-up routine starting from 2 days before the flight all the way to 2 days after landing.

I took two long haul flights and traveled across 12 timezones. Upon arrival I'd say my jetlag was insignificant. For the trip back home I experienced mild jetlag, though I have to admit I could not follow all the preflight recs due to work commitments.

I'll be doing a similar trip in the new year, this time with my wife and infant son, and we'll most definitely use the app again. I can highly recommend it.

HariOm

I became a student of jet lag while traveling back and forth between California and India for 20+ years. In 2022, I learned a great technique called jet lag fasting: stop eating 12 or more hours before it is breakfast time at your destination, to simulate the daily overnight fast. Then eat breakfast when it is breakfast time at the destination. This helps reset your circadian rhythm and tells the body, hey it's morning now.I find this significantly reduces the impact of jet lag.
My wife and I have used TimeShifter for a few years with great results. Some of the transition can be rough, but coming SFO > India it meaningfully reduces our recovery/adjustment time. The app offers a free trial. (I'm not affiliated with the company.)

allset2travel

I follow some simple self-imposed rules while on long hauls.

Fly business class whenever possible
In flight hydration
Avoid coffee & alcoholic beverages
Eat light
Sleep minimum 4 to 6 hours
Walk around, frequent stretching
Once landed, adjust schedule (activities) according to local time

This routine had worked for years! Never had to take any drugs.