IAD - HKG, best sleep plan
Oct 8, 2009, 8:03 pm
#16
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 400
too much thought, not enough preparation?
Key things to have: lots of foam earplugs (to have spares) with Bose QC2 headphones (much preferred over the newer QC3s) - you need to use both - and an eyeshade that keeps the light out and isn't right against your eyes so REM (google rapid eye movement) is possible. Don't over think things, but set watch immediately to local arrival time.
Most times you will be tired anyhow due to anything and everything that happens before you leave and, let's face it, most people are probably sleep deprived on their best day. East coast to transit point (wherever that may be) just sleep. Get on the next plane (for the long flight leg) taking a couple of extra water bottles with you (even in C or F), have a drink or two (booze, not the water), have dinner, watch a movie and then sleep a bunch more. If you wake up and still have 4 - 6 hours left you have probably already reset to 'Asia time' - if you sleep a lot more you had one or two too many and you just slept in - in that case you deserve an early night when you arrive anyway. Thinking about sleep is probably the worst to mess it up.
I think it is easily possible to go from East Coast to Southeast Asia for a long weekend (12 hour time difference) and it not impact anything - I actually probably get more sleep than a long weekend at home.
Most times you will be tired anyhow due to anything and everything that happens before you leave and, let's face it, most people are probably sleep deprived on their best day. East coast to transit point (wherever that may be) just sleep. Get on the next plane (for the long flight leg) taking a couple of extra water bottles with you (even in C or F), have a drink or two (booze, not the water), have dinner, watch a movie and then sleep a bunch more. If you wake up and still have 4 - 6 hours left you have probably already reset to 'Asia time' - if you sleep a lot more you had one or two too many and you just slept in - in that case you deserve an early night when you arrive anyway. Thinking about sleep is probably the worst to mess it up.
I think it is easily possible to go from East Coast to Southeast Asia for a long weekend (12 hour time difference) and it not impact anything - I actually probably get more sleep than a long weekend at home.
Oct 8, 2009, 9:09 pm
#17
Join Date: May 2001
Location: exUA1K, UA MM, lifetime UA1P, AA MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,731
For most flights to Asia I go to bed my regular time the night before travel and wake up accordingly. I try to stay awake the majority of the flight - sometimes all of it. The drinks and boredom usually catch up with me somewhere around Japan (~4 hours outside of HKG). I may cat nap from that point, but try to limit it to an hour or so (I make a point of telling the FAs to wake me for the final meal in case I sleep to long). By the time you go past immigration and get to the hotel in HKG it is 8:00-9:00 so I usually just go to bed (or a really light meal and relax for a bit), wake up 4:30 the next morning and then go for a run/workout (I think the physical activity the next morning is key). This lets me adjust pretty well to the time change. I find that the hardest part of travel to Asia is usually the return; I'm usually a wreck for 2 or 3 days.
On the Eastbound return, I try to sleep 6+ hours on the overnight and then after the first night in my US bed I'm OK again.
I find the key to little jetlag in Asia is to stay awake going West and to sleep after dinner going East.