For my upcoming trip to Australia(15 hr. flt. from LAX) I was hoping to get some "real life' experience. I've read all the articles I could find ,(where most seem to contradict the others),and would appreciate any advice for how to handle the time difference from where I live which is about 12 hrs. opposite.I arrive about 8 AM. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,Brentski

[This message has been edited by brentski (edited 12-08-1999).]

sleep as much as you can on the plane - and try NOT to go to bed till (dark) night at the new place. At day time enjoy as much sun-light as possible.

enjoy the new (body-) experience!

(sometimes, rarely, at the new local bedtime, I might take two Melatonin).

brentski:

I have found that for the really long flights where you cross so many time zones, that I do best when I stay awake for about the first half of the flight, and then sleep for the last portion of the flight. That way, when I wake up at my destination at 8:00 am, my body is rested as if I had just gone to sleep for the night. I definately don't try and sleep the whole flight as there is no way my body can sleep for 12 hours etc. Also, I drink a lot of fluids (no booze).

During that critical first day at my destination, I stay awake, go out running, excercise, sight see, (work ) etc. so that I will then be really tired and go to sleep at the regular time. If you take a nap (b/c your body is still on "home" time), it only delays the adjustment to your new local time.

On my recent trip to South Africa (Cape Town-MIA ~14.5 hours, JFK to Johannesburg ~ 15 hours) this worked perfectly for me. On my return home, I landed at LAX at 8:00 am, and was at work by 10:00 am w/o any jet lag.

brentski -- Well, you can check out my website, and read "Jet Lag Solutions" under the TravelWise section. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

http://ihtm.11net.com

I stay up all night before the flight, drink a lot of gin and a lot of water, and sleep on the flight.

One solution (that I bring to your attention but do not necessarily recommend): HKG-ORD (13:45): stay up all night in Kowloon at a bar (in my case San Miguel) drinking sake and chinese beer and talking to a group of people who understand as little english as you do chinese. At sunrise, go directly to the airport. Get on plane, carefully place the "Please do not wake me for meals" sticker on back of the seat in front of you, don eyeshades and pass out for 13 hours.

Eat breakfast on your connection home and then it's off to work when you land!!! Voila: no jet lag

My method is to forsake all alcohol on the plane and for the first day or two upon arrival. That and fly transcontinental every week. Voila!

Another method I just discovered for US-Europe is to fly the Concorde.

My solution to jet lag is to be in first class. That way, I can sleep fairly well if I want to, or read comfortably, and eat pretty well.

Most importantly, though, I would say that it gives me the option of sleep when I want it, instead of the sleep strategy I take in coach: stay awake for at least 24 hours before I get on the flight so I am so tired that I can't help but to sleep...

And of course this all depends on what time I arrive at the destination...

Brentski: On my flight last July from LAX to Sydney, I intentionally chose the Qantas flight that arrived in the evening (around 8-9 pm). I stayed up for most of the flight and took full advantage of the beverage service arriving quite "tired" and ready for a full nights rest... got to the hotel around 10:30 pm and slept throught the night, arising the next morning with no jetlag at all.

Since you have a morning arrival, I'd enjoy the food and beverage service for the first half of the flight, sleep for the last six hours, and then follow Rudi & onedog's advice by getting a bit of excersise and fresh air and avoiding that little daytime "nap". Those little naps are what prevents your body from a quick adjustment...

I find Stimpy's advice, "...to forsake all alcohol on the plane and for the first day or two upon arrival" to be totally un-acceptable, but hey, that's me...

Melantonin. The FA's use it. Take it when you want to sleep on the plane. Don't take it for more than a day or two or you will be druggy. Never nap upon arrival - kills you for a week.

My best cure for jet lag was arriving Munich just in time for a big night at Octoberfest. Drank copious quantities of beer, got to bed about midnight. Slept REALLY well. No jet lag at all!

Karen -- Actually you need to take the melatonin 3-4 days after arrival to have its most beneficial effects.

If my flight arrives before noon I try to have slept as much as possible before arrival, if it gets in later I try to stay awake as much as possible so that I get a good first night sleep.

Just before bed I take 3 to 6 mg melatonin.

Usually take it for ~3 days each way.

I am planning to take that QF flight from LAX-SYD that arrives @ 8:30 p.m. My travel originates on the east coast at 6:30 a.m. ET. The total travel time is 24 hours, 10 minutes.

The plan is to sleep only a little before the first flight, get as much sleep as possible on the way to LAX, then stay up and enjoy the FC food & service to SYD, arrive in SYD tired and happy, then get a good night sleep.

Good plan? Any other suggestions?