jet lag

Ahhh jet lag. Everyone hates it.

What is jet lag?

Jet lag results when the body’s internal clock is out of sync with daily life, making people sleepy when they want to be awake and wakeful when they want to sleep.

For those of us who travel, jet lag becomes part of the adaptation process to new surroundings... and sometimes we simply don't have time to get over that gap.

I have found that as I have reached my mid-twenties, jet lag has become somewhat of an issue. With an upcoming trip, I have been reading loads of articles regarding jet lag and how to stop it.

Thought it might be nice to share!

On 'The Cure for Jet Lag' by Scanlon and Ehret,
The book suggests resetting the body clock so that it will be in sync with the time at the destination. One to three days before a trip, the authors suggest low-calorie meals. In flight, avoid or strictly limit alcohol, and use coffee or tea to persuade the body clock that it’s daytime. If it’s morning after flying all night, resist sleep and “flood your eyes with daylight,” they suggest.

While all long-haul travel can cause normal fatigue, travel across time zones causes the body to react with the most pronounced effects of jet lag, including disorientation and a general sense of malaise.

On drinking and traveling....
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/business/12flier.html?fta=y

Which basically says that you should plan an extra day into your travels in order to 'adapt' for jet lag.

Many others suggested drugs to combat jet lag...

A jet-lag antidote might seem to be the latest lifestyle drug, a further step in the “medicalization” of something that is not an illness. But sleep specialists, who call the affliction “jet lag disorder,” say that while not exactly a disease, it is a condition that can be dangerous — as when someone tries to drive a car right after arriving in a distant time zone.

That drug, Nuvigil [a slight modification of Provigil, an older stimulant that will face generic competition in 2012] from Cephalon, could become the first medicine specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration to combat jet lag.

I even read an article suggesting Viagra to combat jet lag!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10344668

For those of us without access to jet lag medication...some more simple solutions:

If you're travelling east, try going to bed earlier for a couple of nights. If you're travelling west, go to bed later.

Exercise while on the plane. Don't just walk around the cabin - stretch in your chair as well. This will help your blood circulation and reduce swelling of the feet and legs.

Drink plenty of water before, during and after the flight to avoid dehydration.

According to the destination time, wear sunglasses to reduce light to the eyes during "nighttime" hours.

In a study of hamsters and circadian rhythm, the presence of low-level light at night also accelerates recovery rate in both east- and west-travelling hamsters of all ages by 50%; this is thought to be related to simulation of moonlight.

My problem is that I am usually really excited and thus can't sleep the night before. Then I get on the plane and become enticed by movies, not falling asleep before the food comes and the cramped environment [read: no room to sleep] that embodies steerage, I mean... economy class.

My recent plan [worked to my 20 hour travel times to India in December, Russia in September and the states last June] is to try and eat a little something in the morning during travel time, then take advantage of the free wine available on most SE Asia flights... drink till the food comes and then allow the wine to relax me into a dreamless sleep. I am usually woken up by the next meal/ noises of people around me eating and then there is enough time left on the flight to read a bit and wake up.

The only problem with my plan is when I arrive during the evening. I try to plan accordingly but sometimes it simply doesnt work out.

What are your travel tips?