OK...I know that MANY of you have to be uber-knowledgeable about this subject. We are taking our first trip to Europe from way out on the Left Coast and I am worried we won't be able to enjoy our trip (which is only 10 days long) to its fullest because we'll be jet-lagged for the first part. My boss says to take melatonin...does it work? He also said to get an Ambien prescription, but I would really rather avoid drugs like that.

We did fine when we flew to Tahiti, but then, that's the opposite direction, which to me was a benefit. We are NOT-NOT-NOT morning people...

Any advice? :lct:

Hi Kristin,

Having flown from the Left Coast to Europe, I can really relate to your question.

I took Melatonin - nothing! I took Ambien - nothing! I can't sleep on the plane and have resigned myself to being awake while everyone with, hopefully, the exception of the pilot, is sleeping!

I have found that the best way to combat jet lag is to get into the time rhythm of the city in which you are arriving. We never take a nap if we arrive during the day. I specifically reserve flights that arrive daytime, rather than evening, to take full advantage of extra time to wander/tour. We get to the hotel, freshen up and get out and about. We then have an early dinner and get a good night's rest.

This is just my opinion, of course. We have done really well and suffered no jet lag. I hope it will work for you and Greg, as well.

THANKS Denise, what you say is very encouraging - we are arriving in Athens at 1:00pm, and I am just hoping that we are awake enough to start exploring the city after we check in to our hotel. (Resist the urge to crash when we see the bed, right?! ;) )

The good thing is, we are traveling with friends, so hopefully we can nudge each other to keep on keeping on!

Keep moving, Kristin, and you'll see you'll be fine! Arriving at 1:00 is really a great time to check into your hotel, take a quick shower to revive yourself, and then do some casual wandering. Have a relaxing dinner, with a nice glass of wine, take a hot shower, crawl into bed and by morning you're good to go!

Suggestion - The Archaeolgical Museum is fantastic. Hope you are able to get the opportunity to visit and explore it - maybe even on the day of arrival!

Thanks for your great advice, Denise! (As always!!!!)

I agree with Denise - Tony sets his clock on the new city time and off he goes - I take mild form
of ambien - 4 hrs of plane sleep no after effects - I can sleep on plane Tony cannot - I remember arriving Nice 9 AM.. we just kept on going, checked into hotel, walked, had lunch, walked etc - 3 PM we crashed till 7 PM - then the world was right - up, had dinner and on and on -

Joanna, I admire you and Tony! I have been known to have a hard time going from here to the East coast, even! :rolleyes:

Denise has hit it right. I've done TOkyo & back in only 2 days & didn't have jetlag issues using that technique. Just take it easy the first day, tell yourself it is the New time at your location & put yourself into the swing of things there. You'll be just fine.

Now when you return - a whole different story. That third day back is a KILLER!!!! ;)

Kristin: I was trying to make you feel good - it stinks truthfully (not for Tony) - JAX to LAX ...I am pooped -

Kirsten,

I will generally stay up as late as possible - taking only a nap for the nights sleep when I leave. Remember that your flight is night time at your destination. Eat the "dinner" on the plane and take an Ambien before you go over the Atlantic. On goes my Ipod with soothing music and I am out. Wake up for breakfast as you prepare to land and you are good as new until dinnertime in Athens.

Early to bed at your destination that first night, another Ambien to keep you asleep. They are mild enough that you will wake up refreshed and you will have 10 days of being totally adjusted.

And then on the way home, REVERSE IT - because the jet lag is more difficult when you get back - East to West, plus you no longer have the trip to look forward to - it's back to the salt mine.

I will do three nights of Ambien going and coming now. I got this regimine from my well travelled doctor and it makes the whole coming and going more bearable.

I, too, am not not not a morning person. I dread flying east.

This is what I do.

Open a good bottle of wine.

Stay up all night before departure packing and repacking. Take breaks often and go to the computer to read LCT to see if anyone has sent you a bon voyage message. Sit down and type away with wet nails, pause, drink wine, touch up nails, drink wine, read "off topic" as long as you're there.

Feel guilty about leaving pets. Spend an hour talking to them, prodding them to keep them to stay awake, while you talk sappy nonsense and dab your eyes with tissues.

Look at suitcase and consider repacking, think twice remembering wet nails, pick up wine glass and top off. Hmmm, empty bottle. Time to go to bed.

Get in bed keeping dampish nails on top of covers. Alarm goes off within minutes. Swear.
Get up make a latte and read LCT. Shower. Dress. Tearful goodbye to pets.

Go to the airport. Check in. Drag your sorry booty into a lounge or bar. Hoist wineglass. Get on plane. Husband/S.O. falls asleep with glass of champagne in his hand going down the runway. Glare at him while drinking his champagne. Keep glaring at him for the next 11.5 hours while having the flight attendant top off his glass throughout flight. For full effect take Ambien (or Halcion from your 15 year old stash). Hey! It didn't work at home, why should it now?
The pilot announces you are approaching the landing. For the first time you feel drowsy. Fine.

From this point on I follow everyone else's advice, except, forget the nap. Get into town, get on local time. Find a cafe. Order a glass of local plonk, people watch and enjoy. Get into the moment. When the time comes, sleep will call.

And, going home, flying west is a piece of cake. Believe me.

That's my method. After 40+ trips to Europe it seems to work for me. :)

:app: :app: Suzanne!!!!

Hi Kristin,

You've received very good advice here.

The only thing that I would add is to get a 20 minute dose of natural sunshine sometime after arrival. It works for me....unless it's raining.

Just take the advice given here, and have a great trip

Pincus

So that's what I've been doing wrong - depriving myself of vino night before leaving while packing - well I will change that in preparation for Fjords! :woh: :woh: :woh:

Perfect solution, Suzanne!!! :D

Love everyones take on jet lag...especially Suzanne's! Just want to add that I've always said JET LAG is the only ailment I LOVE to get! ;)

There is a product called No Jet Lag that we use. YOu take it when you get on plane & every 4 hours threafter & once you land. Same both ways. It is made in New Zealand from all natural ingredients.

This seems to work better on husbands than wives.

The key for me is to get a full night's sleep on the first night in your destination. My worst problems with jet lag have been when I've woken up at 2 am, can't get back to sleep, then am exhausted the following day and fall asleep early. Then it seems almost impossible to break the cycle.

My strategy is similar to many above. Just keep busy, keep moving for the first day and get to sleep by 9 pm or so. Usually I'm exhausted enough at this point to sleep until 7 am or so. Then I'm on a good cycle for going to sleep and waking up at the local times.

Jackie, we have used No Jet Lag also. I don't know if it's all in my head, or if the other things I did (as mentioned above) made the difference, but it really seems to work for me.

Dena

I like Suzanne's strategy the best :app: :app:

Editing to add: My worst jet lag is when I return home. It takes forever to get back in my routine. Wish I had Ngaire's secret, she seems to bounce from one trip to the next, no problem!

Suzanne, I LOVE it!!! Sounds like you've got a great routine, there! :banana:

I only have problems coming home from a trip - whether I go east or west it only takes me one day to adjust when I go on a trip - up to a week when I come home.

Best way to adjust for me is to drink a lot of water on the plane & try to avoid alcohol (I don't always do that.) When I arrive I try to get some sunshine and outside exercise, walking around, then I take a 1 1/2 hr late afternoon nap, setting an alarm, have an early dinner and the next day I'm fine. Melatonin doesn't do a thing for me - now I take ambien on an overnight flight - that is the only way I can sleep on a plane.

I sleep in shifts in the base case. Sleep on the plane? Entirely unpredictable. Sometimes no, sometimes the whole way there. A two-hour nap when we arrive at our destination, followed by a shower and a walk is just the ticket to drive any jet lag out of my sorry booty. Oh yea .. and meeting the locals over the local plonk ..

When I traveled for business, hitting the ground running & staying up until 9 pm simply left me pie-eyed the next day. I'm glad to no longer have to stick to that schedule. Once home, the trick is to NOT go to sleep at 6 pm, despite my body's demand for sleep right there and right then.

Cheers, Anne

I do the same routine as Leslie and Anne going East. I try to sleep on the plane and sometimes I actually do. When we get in, I stay up for a while, take a shower and then a nap for an hour or two. Go to dinner at 7 or 8 and go to bed about 10. When I do that, I'm A-OK the next day. It took me a couple of days to get my clock turned around when we went West to Singapore last year, though, but that was a 12 hour time difference. Europe is only about a 6 hour difference for us.

When we board the plan we immediately set our watches to the destination's time. Idea is if it is nighttime there, you sleep; if it is daytime you stay awake.

I don't have a problem with jet lag traveling to a new destination, guess it's the excitement and adrenalin pumping but coming home I turn into a zombie

I do the same as Denise. Sometimes I take a very short nap, but never more than 2 hours. Just keep moving and stay up late.