Long Haul Flights (Tips/Ideas on How to Reduce Jet-Lag)

• 

  pyramid on 18/07/2018 - 13:11

  Whats flight duration ? 17 hrs?

• 

  Stewardo on 18/07/2018 - 13:17

  +7

  When you get to destination, don’t lay down until late evening in that country, resist the urge to take a nap. Staying outside in the sunshine at destination helps your body adapt to new time zone.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 18/07/2018 - 13:23

  +2

  Try to align yourself with the Timezone you are going to whilst on the plane. I usually try to get in later at night so I can sleep sooner then align next day. Nothing worse than getting in early and being knackered for the whole day then exhausted trying to get to sleep that night. I’m usually not to bad with jet lag but when on board I put in my noise cancelling ear buds, listen to classical music and try to zone out for at least part of the trip; if I can I sleep.

• 

  RedHab on 18/07/2018 - 13:23

  +2

  Melatonin can help reset your body clock. You can get it prescribed by your GP, or buy it over the counter overseas.

  • 

    Scrooge McDuck on 18/07/2018 - 15:44

    +2

    You can get it prescribed by your GP, or buy it over the counter overseas.

    <3 the TGA!!

  • 

    Cluster on 18/07/2018 - 16:53

    +4

    I purchased 240 5mg melatonin tablets at Walmart for US$6 last year, so that gives you some idea of what you should pay.

    Local chemists stock homeopathic melatonin without prescription, but that contains virtually no active ingredient. Homeopathy is a fraud.

• 

  bion83 on 18/07/2018 - 13:24

  +1

  1) moisturising cream
  2) lip balm
  3) non-medicated nasal spray
  4) eye drops
  5) Bose QC35
  6) business class if possible

• 

  Gandalf the Thrifty on 18/07/2018 - 13:37

  +2

  Saline spray would be good as you are trying to keep nose moist from dry atmosphere in plane.
  Get up and walk around if flight is 10+hrs.
  Good noise cancelling headphones seemed to help me feel bit better at other end vs when I flew without them.

• 

  trex on 18/07/2018 - 13:54

  +2

  Set your watch to the destination's time when you board your flight and adjust your sleep pattern on the plane to it.

  • 

    Godric on 18/07/2018 - 16:29

    What if you can't tell time

  • 

    samfisher5986 on 18/07/2018 - 18:18

    I don't find this works, I recently did two 13 hour flights.

    The plane has their own timezone.

    For example they will serve you dinner, dim the lights and you won't get anything until breakfast.

    If you try to differ from that timezone you will:

    1. Be woken up by plane lighting
    2. Be woken up by food smells
    3. Be woken up by noisy passengers eating and unpacking wrappers
    4. Miss out on your meals if you sleep through it

    Then when you finally wake up you have to annoy the flight attendant for a drink and a snack, which is nothing like an actual meal.

    And they generally try to wake you up anyway to offer you food.

    • 

      AncientWisdom on 19/07/2018 - 20:34

      Yes, you need to talk with the flight attendant before going to sleep. Basically, explain what you're doing and ask to not be woken up and for a tray of food to be kept for you until you wake up. In a good airline, they will be very understanding and accommodating.

      Regarding the changes around you, a pair of good comfortable ear plugs, eye cover and a window seat will take care of the rest.

      • 

        samfisher5986 on 19/07/2018 - 21:21

        I hope you include a nose plug because people get woken up by the smell of the food, often 3 aisles ahead of you, thats how easy the smell gets to you.

        As mentioned you also need the ear plugs and eye cover as well.

        I'm not so sure that the average airline will let you ask the flight attendant to go and cook your meal on request, I guess they could do you a special favour but multiple people wanting this would stop it the practice quickly.

        I'm curious, do you tell the flight attendant before the food is served? Otherwise your food is cooked and waiting, do you ask them to simply make you another one later that they have spare or something?

        However you'll end up waking up when the plane is completely dark, which makes everything much harder as the lighting helps your body wake itself up properly.

        I haven't seen anyone on my flights do what you have mentioned, I really think following the plane's timezone is the only practical way to do it.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 18/07/2018 - 13:57

  +1

  • Don't drink alcohol
  • Light meal, I usually order raw vegan or fruit platter
  • Light carry-on, don't go lugging around 400kg hand bags
  • Ear buds or noise cancelling headphones

  Pretty much it for me.

• 

  JimmyF on 18/07/2018 - 14:05

  +6

  Antibacterial wipes?!? Seems excessive but I'll try anything.

  Not at all. I wipe down my table, screen, remote, armrests etc as soon as I get on the plane! Who cares what people think.

  People are pigs, and the planes are never cleaned correctly. So take 2 mins to wipe things over and save picking up a bug!

• 

  Zedsdeadbabyzedsdead on 18/07/2018 - 14:09

  +1

  "Long Haul Flights (Tips/Ideas on How to Reduce Jet-Lag)"

  Whisky, copious amounts of whisky.

  • 

    Cluster on 18/07/2018 - 16:58

    +2

    On a flight to Qatar the guy sitting next to me asked for Hennesy cognac mixed with… milk. The flight attendant asked him three times what he wanted, and if he was really sure. Finally, she poured the drink. As expected it curdled and was undrinkable.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 18/07/2018 - 14:12

  One of the best things you can do is chill out as much as possible; which is why everyone is mentioning the headphones/ear buds. Economy class is like a flying slum with an annoying buzzing noise in the background.

  Having flown for a few years I usually carry two/three types of headphones depending on what is happening around me. I have my Noise Cancelling Bose QC20i earbuds, which usually work really well. However, I also carry a pair of decent block-out earbuds with Comply tips to deal with the screaming child aspect that may not cancelled out by the QC20is. I also have a pair of Bose QC15s headphones that I often pack in case I have something that has made my ears so sore I can't take the ear buds, e.g. a head cold. Had this happen to me once coming back from Europe and this, combined with the toddler in front of me, made my flight hell for 20 odd hours.

• 

  Baysew on 18/07/2018 - 14:17

  Fly First Class.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 18/07/2018 - 14:20

    +5

    Damn, I should've thought of that - I will start the gofundme page now; I'm sure Ozbargainers will kick in for this.

• 

  Wej Shekelstein on 18/07/2018 - 14:19

  +1

  Diazepam

• 

  Yorkshire-Man on 18/07/2018 - 15:25

  +1

  Lol. I fly to the UK 3 to 4 times a year.

  My only must haves are :-

  • QC35 or similar grade of headphones as the whole world just melts away, so worth every cent I paid.
  • Limit booze to a single glass of wine (etc), dont get smashed cause you will regret it for the rest of the flight
  • Dont eat much of the grotty airplane food. Eat at the airport, not on the plane, far better quality than boiled slop.
  • Spare clothes to change into (try and shower if there's a paid shower option) at your stopover leg cause you will smell & feel funky.

  Other than that modern planes offer free food, soft drinks & entertainment… best of all no mobile phones… what's not to love :)

• 

  pformag on 18/07/2018 - 16:20

  Fly first, and sleep on the plane.

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  Cluster on 18/07/2018 - 16:56

  A comfortable neck pillow is essential for me. My head keeps dropping forward in economy seats when I sleep. Eye mask as the interior of the plane can be quite bright, especially if someone with a laptop is watching a movie. Good quality noise reducing headphones. If you wear glasses don't forget a case for them so you're not forced to wear glasses throughout the whole flight.

  Melatonin tablets can help you reset your sleep cycle faster.

  Seat position: choose window seat if possible. The only problem is you'll need to ask 2 people to move when you get up. Select a seat away from the bulkheads. That's where the bassinets are placed with screaming bundles of joy.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 18/07/2018 - 17:11

    Aisle seat for me so I don’t need to crawl over others. I don’t need to see out of the window, but the window seat does give you somewhere to prop whilst sleeping.

    • 

      Cluster on 18/07/2018 - 17:29

      Yep. That's the only reason to get a window seat: a handy wall against which to place the pillow. Otherwise I too prefer the aisle seat.

• 

  Wampus on 18/07/2018 - 17:12

  The only thing that has guaranteed to help jetlag for me (regularly fly east coast Australia to west coast USA) is no matter when your flight arrives, dont be tempted to crash early.. stay up as long as you can, ie til at least 9pm.. that first day is crucial

• 

  peterpeterpumpkin on 18/07/2018 - 20:32

  I assume you're going to Europe?

  I think it's actually abnormal to not have jet-lag. To have a stubborn circadian rhythm shows your body is working as expected. If somebody normally falls asleep at 10 pm and then manages to fall asleep at 2 pm the next day for 8 hours you'd assume that they're either sick or heavily sleep-deprived.

  When you travel from the south of Australia to the north of Europe in winter/summer, you're not just changing time zones but the duration of daylight as well, so going about your day and expecting normal environmental cues to fix things won't necessarily work as expected (good luck avoiding light in Finland next month).

  If you're anything like me, you simply can't sleep well in an upright position so you'll be suffering from a combination of sleep deprivation and interruption of your body clock. If you've just arrived back from Europe after not sleeping for 48 hours it's almost impossible not to fall asleep until 10 pm if you arrive in the morning, so the usual recommendations of fighting it out on the first day may not be doable (or healthy).

  But even failing the first day, you can still try the usual tips in the days that follow, such as maximising daylight in the early morning if you want to go to sleep earlier (triggering phase advance) and maximising light in the evening (to delay melatonin release) if you want to go to sleep later. This might not be realistic for a lot of people (since you actually want to avoid artificial light at other times).

  If you're trying to go to sleep later then caffeine actually forwards your circadian rhythm so it can be an effective remedy if taken when you start to feel sleep coming on earlier than desired. This sounds like it should only work if travelling westwards but the reality is that your body clock can get so messed up after a week that you're no longer just trying to "go to sleep 10 hours earlier".

  So while I don't have any tips yet (I actually want to trial a few things myself) I just want you to know that in the absence of exogenous influences (i.e. exogenous hormones or substances/cues that will affect your natural hormones) it's entirely normal to suffer for a day or so per time zone you've travelled (which will normally be worse coming back from Europe for Eastern Australians).

• 

  Peck on 19/07/2018 - 10:48

  I don't use antibacterial wipes, but a bit of water on a tissue to do tray table and arm rest wipe downs, and use tissue on toilet door knobs and to handle toilet lid. Wet tissues to wipe toilet seat down before use.
  If you think that is excessive, then consider that some people squat (ie stand on seat) even though they are not squat toilets, and wash themselves splashing water & whatever everywhere. (religious influence) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_toilet_etiquette
  From a comfort point of view, I always carry an extremely lightweight nylon jacket. I fly frequently and cabins are never a steady temperature.

• 

  Frisco2018 on 19/07/2018 - 12:01

  +1

  International flight attendant here.
  Most of the things I personally do have been mentioned already but I’ll share my tips anyway. Shift your stuff in hand luggage so you never have to reach your suitcase type of big bag in the overhead. It’s not only difficult to open a suitcase inflight but also annoying as you would probably block the aisle while you are at it. Put everything you need inflight in a handbag under the seat in front of you at home or hotel or while you wait at the gate. Go to the toilet just before boarding. It’s simple but people forget and they suddenly stand up right after seat sign goes on…. I change the time zone to the destination time zone upon take off (flight attendants do this). Drink heaps of water but not plain water as that just makes you pee a lot. I make a weak gastrolite or similar solution and keep sipping throughout the flight. Ask FA usually they have it onboard. If not mix a bit of apple juice in water. Try to pick an aisle seat and if poss away from bassinets, galleys and/or lav. If flying Y, and flight is not full ask at the check in very nicely if seats next to you could be blocked. Charm them. Bring noise cancelling headphones or silicone earplugs. Control body temperature like a boss. Always pack disposable heat pad, shawl or uniqlo compact dawn jacket or bed socks etc, whatever you like to stay warm or wear short sleeve underneath so you can strip if hot - whatever keep you warm or cool because cabin temp is not always perfect for everyone and if flight is full there may not be spare blanket.
  Disinfecting your surrounding is good but also I recommend taking heaps of Vit C before and after flight more than dosage this keeps your immune system up.
  That’s all I can think right now but there could be more

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 19/07/2018 - 12:17

    Thanks for the input. You covered quite a lot of the bases with your comment. We normally take our daypacks as our carry on and put them under the seat in front of us so we don't have to worry about the overhead. Watching people blocking the aisle trying to get their bags out of the overhead is annoying. We just reach under the seat in front of us and we are ready to go.

    We also carry most of our electronics in our carry on so, if our luggage goes missing, we still have charge cables etc to keep the electronics going. We figure you can get clothes from most places but charge cables for a particular brand of product might be a tad harder.

    The comment about layering is very useful. A lightweight shawl is very handy on holiday, it can double as evening wear, beach wear, covering for going into religious places, blanket, day wear etc. I have a black silk/cashmere one that I always pack when I'm travelling.

  • 

    samfisher5986 on 19/07/2018 - 12:20

    Not really sure how I can agree with all of your points.

    As I mentioned earlier changing your time zone to the destination doesn't work as the plane runs their own timezone. They dim the lights, have sleeping periods and put out meals all at specific times. If you want to sleep and eat then you have to follow their timezone.

    Drinking plain water does not make you pee unless you have a bladder issue

    Aisle seat is terrible for long flights unless you have a bladder issue, you'll get woken up or disturbed by people peeing, and you can't rest your head on the window.

    Taking Vitamin C to boost your immune system is an old wives tale. Unless you are deficient in Vitamin C, all you will do is pee it out.

• 

  madreece on 19/07/2018 - 13:59

  Timeshifter app.

• 

  AncientWisdom on 19/07/2018 - 20:27

  I can't believe this isn't more well known, but I stumbled across this information in a LifeHacker article a couple of years ago and have put it to the test last year when I went pretty much around the world (in the worse direction) Perth-Sydney-LA-Stockholm-Singapore-Perth - the results were amazing! Very little to no jet lag! Every person I have told this to that tried it has reported back very positive results.

  To help avoid jet lag during your next big trip, schedule your meals around your destination time zone before you actually arrive depart.

  Basically, scientists are starting to think that your meal times have a much more important role in regulating your body clock than first thought.

  It does require some discipline and planning though.

  Here's another article (and plenty more if you Google) about the science behind it: https://theconversation.com/changing-your-meal-times-could-h…