Hi,
Any tips for a first-time overseas traveler to help fight jet lag? (Denver to East Coast = 3-1/2 hour fight; then 7-1/2 hour flight to Paris) Or is it just inevitable?
Thanks,
A.
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Put your watch on to Paris time when you leave the US, try to sleep on the plane, get out for a walk in the sunlight as soon as you have checked into your apartment/hotel and try to go to bed at your normal time to re-set your body clock to local time.
Oh, and drink lots of water.
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When you arrive, stay up the whole day, spend time outside, don%26#39;t take a nap, etc. But also, get some ambien cr. It%26#39;ll help you sleep through the night when you arrive. Usually I find no problem with jet lag in Europe, probably because am so amped up, but when you get back...whew, tough.
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I tried everything until I got to know an international flight attendant. Evidently, it is common knowledge amongst airline attendants on how to beat jet lag. Here is her advice:
1. Stay and sleep in your own comfortable bed up until the time you need to get up to go to the airport.
2. Only sleep for an hour or two on the plane.
3. When you arrive, grab something to eat, go to your room and take a 3-4 hour nap.
4. When you wake up, get right on local time. For instance, if you eat dinner at 7 p.m. at home, eat dinner at 7 p.m. Paris time. If you go to bed at 11:30 p.m. at home, go to bed at 11:30 in Paris.
It works.
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I agree with MrFun. Stay up until you become a Zombie. Do some light siteseeing, taht%26#39;s more enjoyable than you think. Let Mother nature wake you up the next morning, and you will be good to go for the rest of your trip.
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There are homeopathic jet lag tablets called %26quot;No Jet-Lag%26quot; tablets. You take one when you take off, land and every 4 hours while you fly. I take them and never get jet lag so I am assuming they work. You can get them at a travel store. I think AAA sells them too in their little travel store.
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I think for most It’s inevitable, I Ditto what MrFun said, minus the Ambien cr, I’ve never had jetlag more than my first day arriving. I stay awake from the moment I wake up early in the morning till my flight lands on the other side of the pond the next day. Once I’m at my destination I’m excited enough to stay up the rest of the day and into the evening. I fall asleep naturally that evening and wake up naturally the next morning (no alarms), it’s like I’d never left home.
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Dramamine on the flight over works very well for me, and then staying awake all day and sightseeing (walking, minimal riding-- too easy to fall asleep). If/when you can get into your room, I find that a shower can be very helpful as well. I%26#39;ve found that when I nap, it takes me 4-5 days to get over the jet lag/messed up sleep cycles, and when I don%26#39;t, I%26#39;m absolutely fine the next day. Of course, I can%26#39;t take naps at home either..
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I think the best way of adjusting to local time is going to bed your first night in Paris as close as possible to your usual bedtime and getting a good night%26#39;s sleep.
If you don%26#39;t get more than a few hours sleep on the plane, you%26#39;ll probably have a difficult time staying up until your normal bedtime, and may be exhausted from your trip and after a few hours in Paris. So, if you feel like a nap, you should take one - in order to be able to stay up later - but not so long as it will keep you up past your normal bedtime.
One thing we%26#39;ve learned to do is have a good meal (even if I pack one and we enjoy it at the airport or on the plane) and then try to sleep as soon after take-off as you can. Airline food tends to be too salty and makes you too uncomfortable to sleep well. Also, it%26#39;s usually 1-2 hours or more before beverage, then food service, and your meal is over, and they wake you up at least 1/2 hour before landing, so waiting for food/beverage service on the plane cuts significantly into time available for sleeping.
A really boring movie or book always helps me to sleep on a plane. I bring Ambien, but don%26#39;t take it on the plane. I use it to get a good night%26#39;s sleep first night in Paris.
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Drinking lots of water before you leave and on the plane and no colas also helps with jet lag.
But I agree, the real key is to push yourself to stay up as long as possible the day you arrive and you should be fine.
On our last trip, we decided (for the first time of any trip) to check in our hotel when our room was ready, we took about an hour nap, showered and were off - and I have to say, I had absolutely no jet lag problems whatsoever and was able to see more that night on top of it because I wasn%26#39;t as tired. Still slept like a log and the next day was great. But that was ME!
Everybody takes the trip overseas differently. It is always harder for me coming back home than going. If you go enough, you%26#39;ll determine what works best for you. All the tips given so far are good - take what suits your style and leave the rest.
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I think the answer is to try and adjust to local time as soon as possible, and if possible take an overnight flight. The only transatlantic travel I have done is UK - Las Vegas, so assume leave LV at 1430 local set watch to 2230 which will be UK local time. I then scout the plane to find a block of three empty seats which, if the flight is not fully booked, you will find down the back.
Take whatever is the next meal offered and water, definitely no alcohal, and then go and bed down, strap yourself in. That is a bit awkward but get a strap over your body as tight as you can so you don%26#39;t hit the roof in the turbulence. Then let the relentless drone of the engines lull you to sleep. If you are near the rear in a jumbo the gentle side to side sway will rock you off to sleep nicely.
Then when you finally clear the airport and arrive at your destination try and keep occupied the rest of the day and go to bed as near your normal time as possible.
The reverse is harder because local time in USA is at a similar time difference to flight time, so you must try and rest or sleep, even though it is daytime. Then you become a morning person for a few days until the body clock adjusts.
