Jet Lag

How do you combat jet lag?  I'm back to London this month.  My last trip there took me five days to get feeling "normal" once again. 

I think what works for me is to get into the routine of the new time zone directly upon arrival. I don't allow long naps during the day, just little 10 or 15 minute 'power naps' instead. It still takes a few days, but it seems to help.

I really struggle with jet lag, too. It depends on your flight, but usually I sleep for about 2 hours in the afternoon after arriving (UK time). Then I force myself to get on local time; but it's not easy!

However, I'm hoping to take a day flight from the East Coast to the UK in a few months. I think that could really help with the jet lag. Has anyone done this?

I think a day flight from the east coast would be better on the jet lag- say you leave at like 8 am, you'll get here at like 7 or 8 pm, and then you deal with it better.

What's a killer is a short-overnight one from Boston, its only like 6 hours and you land at like 5 am, but its only midnight in Boston, but you've got to force yourself to spend the rest of the day awake in the UK and if you have to travel on further like I do because I live far, far, far away from London and all the Boston flights seem to only land in London , its a killer!

Short naps and getting a bit of exercise outdoors in the daylight seem to help me. But I usually spend several days feeling like a zombie.

Short naps and getting a bit of exercise outdoors in the daylight seem to help me. But I usually spend several days feeling like a zombie.

Ditto!

I've just dealt with jetlag going back to the UK a couple of weeks ago, and then returning to the US earlier this week. Going from the US to the UK, it takes me about 3-4 days to get back to normal, but going the other way (US to UK) it takes me 1-2 weeks for the tiredness to completely disappear! I arrived back in the UK on a Sunday morning (3 weeks ago) and finally got over the jetlag by about the next Sunday/Monday (which is usually okay with me because the UK is my home country so I'm not missing out on anything by having jetlag), but then I had to return to the US again just a few days after I'd re-adjusted to GMT .

I feel everyone's pain.  I book early morning flights going from Atlanta or Chicago to Heathrow.  When I get there, I don't really feel all that bad-maybe two mornings when I sleep later than usual.  But coming from London back here to Tucson-I don't feel "normal" at all until days later. 

I always do the overnight flights coming this way - cos we fly between Manchester & Atlanta (on Delta) & that's the available schedule.  It's definitely harder coming back this way, than going west.  I once read something that you need to plan on a day for each hour's change in time zone...so 5-8 days sounds about right for feeling back to normal.

We are toying with the idea of a holiday in South Korea next year...I don't even want to think about the jet lag that might be involved with that!

I always try to start adjusting back to UK time a few days before I leave the States to make the transition easier (although since I'm usually in NC, the time difference is only 5 hours). I just start setting my alarm an hour earlier each day (and going to bed earlier every night) until on the day of my departure I get up at 3-4am. This gives me a lovely long morning relaxing, reading and drinking coffee before catching an afternoon flight. It also almost guarantees I sleep on the plane overnight (with the help of a couple of Benedryls). This strategy combined with a two-hour nap upon arrival usually sets me up for a quick recovery.

It's an 8 hour time difference for me, and about a 24 hour portal to portal travel time, and I can't ever seem to get any sleep in so I am about shattered when I get to the UK, but I find it way easier to adjust to being in the UK than coming home. One thing I have read is that if you try and adjust your meal times to the place you are going it can help... read about it somewhere. I haven't ried it yet but it sort of makes sense, I guess not only do we have a biological clock but a secondary tummy clock or some thing (much more scientific sounding) like that.  I am going to try it when I go over next (hopefully to stay!) time to cross the fingers!   

I just come to terms with the idea of losing a night's sleep to be honest. I can't sleep on planes at all, so I just suck it up, try to get a flight that lands in the UK in the afternoon, go home and try to stay busy until evening (and get fresh air and sun if at all possible) and then go to sleep for 12 hours. It's probably not the healthiest way to do it, but it's the only thing that seems to work. Luckily I find it easier to adjust coming back here - when we arrive in the US I'm completely useless for days because for some reason I can't sleep through the night.

Benedril lol

My last trip was my best ever.  I took a couple tylenol PMs around the dinner service, even though I rarely use those outside of travel.  I also used the eye cover Delta gave me and the ear plugs and I brought a good travel pillow with me instead of relying on the airline one.  This helped me sleep through a significant portion of the flight, even though my body didn't normally sleep during that time.  Avoiding any caffeine and even carbonation also helps.

Then when I get to the UK, I do my darndest to avoid naps, although I often doze off for a bit on the coach to Cardiff.  It is hard the first day, but because of being a bit drugged on the airplane, I woke up in the morning as the flight was landing, and tried to go through the day normally.

Another safe and natural thing for when you get here is to bring some melatonin with you from the States (can't buy it here).  It isn't a sleep pill, but helps regulate sleep cycles.  I had to work with a sleep specialist years ago and they mentioned that it works with circadian rhythms (the thing that gets messed up with jet lag.) If you take it around 8 before you go to bed in the UK, it will help you get a more natural night's sleep without waking up so much in the night as I often do with jet lag.  My last couple trips over have been so much better than before when I forced myself to sleep on the plane.  I'm a horrible airplane sleeper, which is why the meds helped.

good luck!

thanks for all the helpful tips everyone.  I'm leaving for London on Friday and hope I am better prepared to fight the jet lag.