jet lag…?
Friday, July 24th, 2009 at
8:15 am
Lucy G asked:
I will be flying to China next month, and since is my first time to travel so far from America, what advices would you recommend to avoid as much as possible jet lag symptoms..? tx!
… I will be arriving on a sunday, and have a business meeting on monday! is this wise?, several web sites say i would have to rest more days, but i going on work, cant afford loose time… what are your advices?
I will be flying to China next month, and since is my first time to travel so far from America, what advices would you recommend to avoid as much as possible jet lag symptoms..? tx!
… I will be arriving on a sunday, and have a business meeting on monday! is this wise?, several web sites say i would have to rest more days, but i going on work, cant afford loose time… what are your advices?
Tagged with: China • Jet Lag Symptoms • Loose Time
Filed under: Jet Lag
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the pressure from the plane cause Jet lag, so there’s not much you can do when you get to China… sleep as much as possible on the plane I guess
Try to get some GOOD rest prior to going and then on the plane, I like to take a sleeping pill particularly when I go from the U.S. to Asia.. It helps me to fight the problem of jet lag
HOW TO REDUCE JET LAG:
[according to the website below (PS. I've read some reviews earlier on the No-Jet-Lag (natural herbal) tablets which said they were pretty effective)]:
Pre-flight
This is one of the most important aspects of combating jet lag. Before departing, make sure you have all your affairs, business and personal, in order. Ensure you are not stressed-out with excitement or worry, and not tired or hungover from a function the night before. Get plenty of exercise in the days prior to departure and try to avoid sickness such as the flu, colds and so on. If you have a cold, flying will probably make it worse – ideally you should delay the trip. Get a good night’s sleep just prior to departure.
East or west?
There is much debate about whether it is better to fly eastward or westward. It may be largely a matter of personal preference, but there is some evidence that flying westwards causes less jet lag than flying eastwards.
Night or day flight?
Again it is largely a matter of personal preference based on experience. Most travelers think daytime flights cause less jet lag. We note that more daytime long haul flights are being added by major airlines.
Drinking fluids
The dry air in aircraft causes dehydration. Drinking plenty of non-alcoholic fluids counters this. Water is better than coffee, tea and fruit juices. Alcohol not only is useless in combating dehydration, but has a markedly greater intoxicating effect when drunk in the rarefied atmosphere of an airliner than it does at ground level.
Sleeping aids
Blindfolds, ear plugs, neckrests and blow-up pillows are all useful in helping you get quality sleep while flying. Kick your shoes off to ease pressure on the feet (some airlines provide soft sock-like slippers, and many experienced travellers carry their own).
Exercise
Get as much exercise as you can. Walking up and down the aisle, standing for spells, and doing small twisting and stretching exercises in your seat all help to reduce discomfort, especially swelling of legs and feet. Get off the plane if possible at stopovers, and do some exercises or take a walk. This also helps to reduce the possibility of blood clots and associated trauma.
Showers
During extended stopovers on a longhaul flight, showers are sometimes available. A shower not only freshens you up but gets the muscles and circulation going again and makes you feel much better for the rest of the flight. Trans-Pacific pilots have told us taking a shower in Hawaii helps them recover more quickly from the general effects of jet lag after the flight.
No-Jet-Lag
This is a safe and effective remedy for countering jet lag, in the form of easy-to-take tablets. Its effectiveness has been proved in a scientific trial of round-the-world passengers and confirmed by longhaul flight attendants in a test conducted in cooperation with their union. Being a homeopathic preparation using extremely low dosages, No-Jet-Lag has no side effects and is compatible with other medications. It has no connection with the controversial hormone melatonin. No-Jet-Lag is available worldwide by mail order, and is sold at outlets such as international airports, pharmacies and travel stores in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Melatonin
This is a controversial and complex treatment for jet lag involving the manipulation of a hormone in the body, starting in the days preceding travel. Research shows that if you miscalculate the right time to take it, melatonin will actually make jet lag worse! And for research that casts doubt on whether melatonin does counter jet lag click here.
Anti jet lag diet
Another complicated method is the anti jet lag diet. Like melatonin, this is for people with lots of time on their hands who can devote several days before and after a trip to preparing. Although it has some passionate devotees it is complicated and there is little evidence that it works. If you’re interested, click here for jet lag diet information
Sleeping pills (don’t!)
Some people use sleeping tablets to try to alleviate jet lag. This is a dangerous approach as sleeping pills induce a comatose state with little or no natural body movement, and it is well known that prolonged immobility during flight can lead to fatal blood clots (deep vein thrombosis). This was reported as far back as 1988 in the Lancet, which said it was estimated “that over three years at Heathrow Airport, 18% of the 61 sudden deaths in long distance passengers were caused by clots in the lungs.” Picture the leg veins as bags of blood. When this blood doesn’t circulate there is a risk that it will clot. In addition, many so-called sleeping pills are variants on anti-histamines and they tend to dehydrate significantly, adding to the already significant problem of in-flight dehydration.
My husband and I just recently went to Ireland from California and I’ll tell you what we did
I am deathly afraid of flying, so I stayed up the all night the night before. I drank a few cups of coffee so that I would make it through all of the lines and I brought a sudoku book with me so that I could focus on something other then how tired I was. The second I got in my seat..and feel asleep
I woke up when we landed in France (we had a lay over) and I felt great! Not only did I miss the uncomfortable feeling of sitting in the same chair for hours on end, but since we had made sure that our plane landed in the morning, I woke up in the beginning of a new day….and I didn’t have to get used to the time change 
Lucky me!
My husband did not do what I did and was absolutely exhausted by the time we got to Ireland.
It may sound nuts, but I’ve been doing this ever since I was a kid and I never have jet lag.
So, get a flight that will get you there in the morning, stay up all night, drink coffee, and just crash once you get on the plane.
Good Luck
PS. Airborn! It’s a must if you want to avoid getting sick from the re-circulated air.
Most of the flights that I take out of the U.S. west coast leaves late at night. This will usually put me in Asia sometime in the morning. If you have the same schedule, I would definitely try this approach that have worked for me numerous times.
As you leave the west coast, usually late at night (11:00 pm or later), the time in your arriving city is late afternoon. So my goal here is to stay awake for a few hours until it is time to go to bed in my arriving city. Five to six hours is good, but I’ve gotten away with just staying awake for 3 to 4 hours. By staying awake, this should get you really tired and you should have no problem sleeping now for 10-12 hours. Flights to Asia from the west coast are usually 12 to 15 hours. By the time you get up, the flight should be near arrival and it’ll be morning local time.
If you can follow the approach above, you are halfway home. Once you get to your destination, I would take a shower to really wake you up. Have something light to eat. Heavy meals usually makes me sleepy. Get out of your hotel and walk around a bit. Get to bed early, so that you can give yourself 10 hours or so to sleep.
Also, drink plenty of fluids and make sure your body is hydrated throughout the flight. Try taking melatonin, an over the counter drug that helps with sleeping. I usually take one right before sleeping in the plane to make sure I sleep for most of the flight.
Hopefully this has given you an idea of an approach that may work for you. It definitely has worked for me over the past 8 years that I have been traveling worldwide. Good luck and safe travels.