ralfp

AFAIK the longest scheduled flight is less than 19 hours long (EWR-SIN)

(Warning: Rant Ahead)

Of course it was a life saver. Water*, sometimes called homeopathic "medicine", is a requirement for human life. However, be warned: water, including water called homeopathic "medicine", does have side effects, and it can kill you.

Note that melatonin is NOT homeopathic (not that Fly-Me-to-the-Moon! said it was). A real homeopathic "medicine" or "remedy" prepared from melatonin would be a "remedy" for narcolepsy. Why are homeopathic remedies, e.g. Oscillococcinum (a flu "medicine"), safe? Because, despite being made from supposedly toxic duck hearts and livers, according to a manufacturer's rep, "There's nothing in it."

A homeopathic "medicine" or "remedy" for jet jag, insomnia, etc. would not use melatonin; caffeine (actually an "active" "ingredient" in some homeopathic sleep aids) or methamphetamine would probably be more appropriate.

An amusing explanation of homeopathy can be found here.

Dang... I really need some sleep... where's the Ambien?

*: Homeopathy can involve solvents other than water, but the alternatives (e.g. ethanol) are typically far more toxic.

Helena Handbaskets

+1 on the homeopathy-debunking.

chuck1

Next week I will be taking ORD-PEK and PEK-ORD.
Times are ORD-PEK 830PM-11PM and PEK-ORD 755AM-725AM.

Is the flight to PEK all in darkness?
Is the return all in daylight? If there is darkness, is it very short?

Any jetlag strategies either way?

It would seems if you sleep too much ORD-PEK, then you won't be able to go to bed when you get to your hotel in Beijing.

Coming back is also different from any trans-Pacific timings I've ever done. They've all been afternoon departures with morning arrivals.

ESpen36

I know that some people have elaborate rituals to combat the effects of jet lag. I do a lot of long-haul travel across time zones myself and have found that what works best for me is just to sleep as much as I want, as often as I need, until I have adjusted. Now, my long-haul travel is not business related, so it's not like I have to be awake at a certain time for a meeting. But generally, I have found that I can nap on westbound flights and still be plenty sleepy for my first night at the new location. Of course, as we all know, eastbound flights are much tougher on the biological clock, and I admit they can be rough for me too. But again, my model is to sleep as often as I feel the need to sleep, and within a day or two my body has adjusted. Asia actually can be easier than Europe because the flights to/from the latter are relatively short and thus rough (you arrive from many typical TATLs in the wee hours of the morning US time). Asia flights allow you to get a good long sleep in between meal services. I would put Deep South America in this same category, though of course no (or only very minimal) jet lag applies.

magic111

As it turns out jet -lag is not airline specific.
We will be sending this thread over to TravelBuzz! where it most likely will be merged into a more comprehensive thread on jet-lag.
If you see this response prior to the Travel;Buzz moderators placing where it best fits that forum feel free to go ahead and search travel buzz for topics on overcoming jet-lag.

~magic111 Moderator aadvantage forum

ksandness

I have no trouble with jet lag flying to Asia unless the FAs insist on darkening the cabin. In natural light, I just experience an incredibly long afternoon with no more than a 2-hour nap. Once I arrive, I stay awake till at least 10PM local time, go to bed, and I'm up with the sun the next morning. It's equivalent to pulling an all-nighter.

However, with a darkened cabin, I arrive groggy.

Unfortunately, I have not found a way to avoid the disruptions of eastbound travel. The best eastbound flight I ever took was actually UA's 9:30PM ORD-LHR flight, which got me into LHR around 11AM, GMT, which is 5AM, CST, i.e. earlier than I like to wake up, but nothing like arriving at 1AM CST and being expected to live through a full day in London without a nap.

I guess that means that finding a flight that leaves as late in the evening as possible will bring you to your eastbound destination at some reasonable time in the morning.

SheBangsTheDrums

Going from the UK to north America sets my body-clock all over the place, doesnt seem to be so bag going forward in time zones. I find myself going to sleep at say 10pm and then waking up bright as a button at like 3-4am and unable to get back to sleep?

Any tips for getting over the above?

rjw242

Interesting, I always found the opposite - going from US to EU was miserable, other direction was fine. Best I can think of is find a reason to stay awake til midnight or so (go out with friends, schedule something to keep you away from bed, etc); that always forces my body clock to adapt within a couple days.

Redhead

I rarely get jet-lag. I set my watch to the new time as soon as I get on the plane and then promptly fall asleep (I'm one of the lucky ones that can sleep on a plane). If it is a day flight to the US, I try to stay awake for at least some of the flight but don't always succeed. I then try to go to bed around 10pm in the US, taking a Tylenol PM if I slept a ton on the flight. This generally helps me stay asleep until ~6am or so. Then I'm up and fully reset.

Also, drinking a ton of water during the flight. This not only helps keep you hydrated (lessening the impact of jetlag) but also keeps me awake since I have to head to the bathroom every 45 minutes

SheBangsTheDrums

Thanks for the replies guys.....some food for thought there.

I think tonight I may try and stay up later than 10PM, maybe push it til midnight and see if I can any better sleep. My only concern with this would be that even when I do fall asleep the quality of the sleep isnt great and im still waking up every hour or so. The worry would be actually getting two hours less of sleep and then having to go into my client office looking like death-warmed-up

I have found it really strange that the jump backwards in time-zones is worse for me.

Very, very envious of being able to sleep on flights though. I am almost never able to sleep.

pinworm

I try to move my own internal clock a bit before going to sync better with the destination time, although it's a bit of a lost cause because the pituitary gland, which regulates circadian rythm, is light responsive. But it helps a little.

I also avoid sleeping when I get there. Typically arrivals in Europe are in the morning and the temptation to sleep is HUGE after a long transat flight, especially from California..but I don't do it. I force myself to stay up and active and I find myself getting a second wind. Then, when the local time gets to a reasonable hour like 8pm, I will go to bed and wake up with everyone else instead of at 3.

Taking melatonin helps.

When I lived in Toronto, AC had a YYZ-LHR daytime flight. This was unusual because most transats out of YYZ would depart in the early evening or late afternoon. Going out at 11 AM kept the bulk of the flight in daylight and got you into LHR at local bedtime. This made your light/dark cycles more normal. It was a more expensive flight but completely worth it because the jetlag was noticeably weaker. If you can find a flight that transits the ocean in daylight, take it. Not easy in winter!!

Flying C or F helps too. Especially if you have the shortened night effect where you get 3 hours of darkness. You can sleep better up front, and are more comfortable in general when you get there.

trek87

I second the suggestion of taking melatonin. I fly a lot across time zones (just got back from Asia last week), and I take melatonin for the first few nights after arrival at my destination and after I return home. My wife and I don't sleep well on airplanes, and it really helps us stay asleep and feel refreshed after travel.

Staying hydrated is also a really good suggestion.

triphunter

I agree with a bunch of the points above. Personally i think exercise and drinking lots of water is the key. I've made a list of further jet lag tips here - http://triphunter.co.uk/tips-on-beat...aging-jet-lag/

aster

What I find strange is that if I take the night flight from Europe to Singapore then I'm always jet-lagged. Yet if I take the noon flight to SIN then I'm perfectly fine with no time needed to adjust and shake off any jet lag.

meerkat29

Any suggestions on how to prevent, or deal with, Jetlag? Kenya will be eight hours ahead of me when I go there next month and spend eight nights.