Printable View
In all my years of being on this planet i have never flewn far enough to have jet lag. What does everybody when they get to the States to counteract it. We fly at 11.15 with Virgin. We land mid afternoon US time. Any advice and tips will be welcomed. Thanks in advance guys.[msncool]
I don't feel it going over to Florida only on the return journey. we try to stay up as late as possible when we return in order to try and rectify the body clock.
This subject has been discussed at length on more than one ocassion, try doing a search and you will come up with tons of advice and tips.
I never suffer on the journey out either, but my advice when you return is to stay up all day and try and go to bed at what would be your UK bedtime, I made the mistake of going to bed in the afternoon after our first trip and messed myself up for days!!![msnsmile2]
Yep - I agree no problem going but feel it on the return. Best advice on your return, get back into your normal routine as soon as possible. I always find that a couple of early morning starts soon get the body clock back to normal. Our son Jack who is 7 appears not to be affected at all by jet lag and just gets on with it, must be an age thing [msnsad]
tavelling west is not too bad, when we arrive we are usually excited and busy so stay up until between 10 and midnight before we go to bed. prepare yourself for waking early or in the middle of the night. I find taking something like melatonin or Tylenol PM, both of which you can buy quite easily in th US, is helpful.
I find the jetlag coming east much worse, you arrive home tired, sad to have finished your lovely holiday and generally much less inclined to stay awake.
If you must have a sleep then make it a short one.....set your alarm clock. Try to go to bed at your usual time and I usually take 2 Tylenol PM or Melatonon for a couple of nights.
One great way to stay awake is to visit the forum and catch up with all that has been going on in your absence......seriously, it works!!![msnsmile2]
when we get to florida we are normally buzzing! but we normally fly at 11.15 then find the villa by 6pm after a shop and swim not necessary in that order ready for bed at 8.30 9pm i am so fighting to stay awake!! but coming ho,e last time affected us for about 5 weeks! no matter what we try we havent got it right yet so will be open to any ideas for Novembers trip
we were wide awake and ready to go in the pool by 6am the first morning even though we went to bed at our "normal" time.however the year before our flight didnt leave uk till 3pm and we suffered no jet lag, strange but thats us for you!!
[msnwink]
you're far too excited when you get there with everything you're about to do that you don't feel jet lagged.I think you feel it when you come home because the depression hits in as soon as you land.Still you can always start planning your next trip to cheer yourself up!
We try and stay up as late as possible when we arrive so as to, Hopefully, not wake up too early on our first morning. On the way home we pretty much try and do the same, not sleep during the day and have an early night. Seems to work so far and does not take too long to get back in the swing of things.
You can buy Melatonin in America.This is the natural sleep hormone that you would take an hour before you want to get to sleep.
This is not available in England,but is sold everywhere in the States
i have the greatest solution possible and you'll all agree!!!!
wait for it ......
[:O]
STAY IN FLORIDA FOREVER MORE you wont regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![^][angel][msnwink]
would be good if it was possible! or at least stay till we got fed up then we'd be happy to come home!! couldnt see that ever happening!
have to agree coming home is the worst [msnsad] i only experienced it for the first time at new year and it took me about 3 weeks to get back to noraml afterwards .
Not too bad going out, only waking up at 4.00am it a bit of a painf or the first three days. BUT must agree going home is a lot worse.
We normally land in Gatwick but have to drive 3hours to get to Cardiff. Usually end up in services for a coffee and a kip in the car, as the kids are always asleep all the way home. My body just needs to go into autodrive for a couple days, brain takes a while to catch up.
We go over probably three to four times a year now. so it is getting better. As I have come to sleep a lt more on the return journey.
As said earlier its not going to Florida thats the problem its the journey back which is the bad one, I would just stick to local times and try to sleep on the plane.
We have no problems going to Florida, coming home is another matter - we usually land at Heathrow around 7am and are back home by about 9.30.
We all go straight to bed for 2 hours max then force ourselves to stay up until normal bedtime.
This works reasonably well for us. One time a few years ago we stayed up until about 4pm then all crashed out for a couple of hours, it literally took a couple of weeks to get our body clocks back to normal[msnsad]
Just to confirm the comments above.
The phrase "Flying West is Best" just about sums it up because you are gaining time travelling West to Florida rather than losing it flying East back to the UK.
Reckon holiday excitement and adrenaline also helps on the outward West journey though!
Have read theories that while away, you should start going to bed progressively earlier as your return date to UK approaches. However this tends to be when you want to make the most of your remaining time so we have not quite cracked that one yet!
Like Caroline we also tend to have a couple of hours max late morning/early afternoon when we get back, then stay up until normal bedtime.
However it really is a horses for courses thing over what works for one may not for another.
Andy
I spent years working on Concorde which meant doing 2 trips to New York a week, the best way to avoid jet lag is as soon as you get on the plane change your watch to the local time of your destination and do things at the times you should.
It is always worse coming east though and I often had a 2 am bed time after a trip but the more you do the more your body copes[msnsmile2]
Yes, I find it difficult to adjust for the first few days and when I eventually get into the swing of things, it is time to return. Must admit I do miss my bed in the UK.
I always have problems going as it takes me about 4 days to stop waking up from 5am to 7am..I try to stay up as late as possible but still find myself waking up at 5am. Last year I fought it and got up about 6ish..but on the 3rd day everything starts to kick in the normal hours. I would say for the first two days not to push it and relax and enjoy the private pool and then on the 3rd or 4th day run straight for the parks and have a great time!
Going out will not be a problem just try to stay up a little while by maybe going for groceries or something, otherwise you will wake up at very early o'clock on your first morning in Florida.
Coming back to UK, try to get a good sleep on the plane, drink plenty of water, jet lagged and being dehydrated are not a good mix! Depending on how far away your home is from the airport, if you are quite close and arrive home early to mid morning then have a snooze (during the morning not afternoon) as opposed to a deep sleep, this will be enough to get you through the day and then have an early night. Try to eat at Uk times as soon as possible. If you live a bit further away from the airport then try to keep yourself awake, the worst thing to do is fall into a deep sleep in the middle of the afternoon, you'll never get back into UK time. A 20 minute cat nap in the afternoon, just to rest your eyes will get you through!!!
When you get home, have a nice shower, not a long soak in the bath, do your laundry, the grocery shopping, admire all of your purchases, drop films off to be deveolped etc anything to keep yourself busy and awake, you will feel worse the minute you sit down!!!!!
Hope this helps, it is the way I have coped with years of working on an aircraft!!!!!
Fully agree with Camilla & Neil, We usually arrive home about 8am, we then go to bed but set the alarm for noon, we then shop, unpack etc. and go to bed at the normal time. We tried staying up but that nearly ended in someone getting killed as we were so tired and tempers got very frayed. If you go to bed and stay there until you wake it will be tea time and you will never get back into a routine.
I am definately going to melatonin the boys and ourselves for the flight home. Hopefully the excitement of their hols will keep them going on the way out. Thanks for the advice. I have re read the thread as mentioned earlier.
I don't suffer from jet lag badly as I drink as much as I can when I get home, I do mean water no coffee. It's being dehydrated that causes the jet lag and thats because of the air con on the plane and the fact that you are trying to sleep on the plane so therefore not much time to drink the water.
Hope this helps. Cheers to a great holiday!!
All the best
I will have to get some Melatonin on my next visit, this is the first I have heard of it. The kids seem to bounce back when we come home, Hubby doesn't have too much of a problem with it but I felt awful for about a week after we returned. [|)]
We never suffer going to Florida (apart from getting up at 3-4am for the first few days)but coming home is awful. We have tried going to bed when we get home for a couple of hours and then going to bed at our normal time in the evening, we have tried staying up as long as possible then having an early night, but the only thing that made any difference was the Melatonin.
We took it for the flight home and for 2-3 nights after we got home when we went in February and I really noticed the difference. We normally fly on a Friday so that we arrive home on the Saturday and have Sunday to recover before we go back to work but last time we flew on a Saturday arrived back on the Sunday and went back to work on the Monday without any problems.
A couple of daft questions -
Melatonin - is that what you ask for or is it branded up under an over the counter name?
Where available - usual pharmacies presumably? - is it on the shelves or do you need to ask at the dispensing counter?
Sounds like it is definitely worth a go....(but bet it doesn't stop you feeling hungry at odd times when you are home.....or is that just me with a snack-attack!)
Andy
Andy,Melatonin is available at Walmart,Walgreens all the sort of places that you get over the counter medicines
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Mach 2
I spent years working on Concorde which meant doing 2 trips to New York a week, the best way to avoid jet lag is as soon as you get on the plane change your watch to the local time of your destination and do things at the times you should.
It is always worse coming east though and I often had a 2 am bed time after a trip but the more you do the more your body copes[msnsmile2]
[/quote]
Yes I agree with Lucy about setting your watch to US tima as soon as on the plane. Also drink plenty of water throughout the flight. Try to stay up as long as possible, although, I am always awake about 4am the next morning so we use that to do all our unpacking.[msnwink]
Steve & Dawn
In Florida, it won't be a problem, as you are flying west. On return home [ and this is from 20 years of Jetlag experience!] - firstly, in the airport before you get on the plane, drink a litre of water, sip through the morning, but try to get it down. On the plane, drink more if you can, and avoid alcohol. Then grab as much sleep as you can on the plane. When you get home, go to sleep, but set your alarm - no longer than 90 mins - and ensure you are awake by 1.00pm. Have a hot shower, and stay on your feet keeping busy all day -force yourself to eat a light diet in UK time mode. Before bed, a glass of hot milk, and a Melatonin tablet, and you are then Jet Lag free - set your alarm for an early start even if not working as if you allow yourself to sleep in the next day - you are finished!!
MELATONIN is what you look for - walmart, publix, anywhere has it, and it isn't expensive. Dr Chris Steele on "this morning" recommends one tablet the first night, and then another the next night if needed. By then you should have kicked it. Children under 12 not advised.
Keep the water intake up. I never have problems following that, and in the past I have been dreadful.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by worldpeace
we were wide awake and ready to go in the pool by 6am the first morning even though we went to bed at our "normal" time.however the year before our flight didnt leave uk till 3pm and we suffered no jet lag, strange but thats us for you!!
[msnwink]
[/quote]
I'm always up and showered by 7 in the morning in FL.....and I know its not jetlag because I live in the same time zone.....you just feel like getting up and out into the sunshine.....I seem to have a much longer day in FL.....and its rare for me to feel tried........
I doubt we will ever sleep in. The excitement for the family being on holiday in the great place of Orlando will keep us going, even if i feel knackered on the first day.
Hi Bluebirds.
I thought it was into Kissimee Old Town for a Burger and a Beer and watch the world go by, the car cruise looks good or maybe a swim. We are going to FLORIDA:D:D, I will need to take this in, very, very excited. Cases unpacked or not and straight to get our bearings I think. We will worry about Jet Lag when we get back.
We have plenty of Melatonin for you if you need it. [msncool]
London Girl and Family.
We usually stay up as late as poss on the first night and since they got out of "toddlerhood", my 3 don't wake up until around 6am, which we think is more than acceptable for the first day. Coming home, we do the usual, like drinking lots of water, but our well tried and tested method is to try to sleep as much as possible on the journey home and even if they've only had an hour or two, I do everything humanly possible to keep them(and us) awake the next day. We've tried the "short naps" in the past, but they never work for us. It's so hard to rouse the children after a couple of hours sleep.
We arrived back only yesterday-my children had slept for between 2 and 3 hours on the plane. We kept them awake during the day(despite their complaints!)They went to bed at 7.30 and slept until I woke them for school at 6.30 this morning-all were fine and are going to bed tonight around 8.30! Job done!
I agree London girl and family. Not going to bother with cases. Be with you for the beer and burger. Make mine a large cold one(beer i mean).[msncool][msncool]Actually thats the 2nd thing we are going to do,the first is to dive into the pool and stretch my aching travel legs. Thanks for offer of a melatonin.See you there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I always end up waking up really early on the first couple of days. Don't know if this is jetlag or just excitement!
DOM:)
Sometimes you wake up early on your first day in FLorida because of hunger!!! If you think about it with the time change, it's just like you had a really late night and then when you wake, early for Florida time, but actually feels like lunch time as it would be in the UK!!! So, try to set your watch to American time as soon as possible.
Going to Florida is no problem, but agree coming home is the drag. We always set our watches on local time where we are flying to, and try to sleep on the plane (which never works) and then forcing ourselves to stay awake until normal bedtime. Takes a few days....but then we booked our next flights and it's not so bad.[clap]