Advice on Jetlag please jetsetters??

ben dover said:
They normally give you flight socks for a reason...
If i leave my shoes on during a long flight like that then my feet swell.
Flight socks are made to avoid your feet from swelling, use them.
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aha, so that is what they where for :D I thought it's for people who took their shoes off and can't get them back on again :D
 
Don't overdo the caffiene, take something (somnil?) to sleep on the plane, try to do 50% timezone adjustment en route and the rest on day 1 there. Then start sleeping at regular hours on that side. Try not to take too much in the way of stimulants or anything - let the sun do the job, but I'm all for a muscle relaxant on day 1 or two to get into the groove.
 
jprheeder said:
Hi Guys,

Hope that this is the correct thread for this..

I'm off to the NZ RWC11 :D and would like to hit the ground running when I arrive(so to speak). Does anyone know what sort of (sleep) routine I should take(or any method) that will minimize the jetlag experienced.

We leave SA @ 16h00 and arrive in Sydney @ 14h05 (the next day) then catch a connecting flight (18h35) to Auckland and arrive @ 23h25. I have never been on a plane trip out of the country so I am not sure what to expect. Should I party hard and sleep my way through or??
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Fly Business class and u'll be well rested
 
go to your pharmacy and buy some "no jet lag" tablets. homeopathic med. if you can't get any at your local pharmacy, try the one at the airport on your way out. i have a friend who travels to the far east at least once every 2 months and he claims these are brilliant.
no harm in trying all the other stuff mentioned as well.
 
I would say you should get one of those pillow things that goes around your neck. Also, get a window seat. Its the only place on the plane you will be left alone to sleep. Isle seats are nice because you have freedom to move but you will be bumped and shoved the whole flight.

As for your feet swelling, wear a comfy pair of sneakers that are rather large and you won't have a problem.

I once went on a 20hr bus trip. I slept 15 of those hours because of a sleeping tablet. And a bus is probably worse than an airplane.

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Don't eat anything from about 16 hours until you need to wake up.
So if you need to wake up at 8am, stop eating and drinking anything from 4pm the day before (you can work out the time difference and stuff).
Apparently it has to do with an internal clock that prevents us from dying of starvation in our sleep.

Read about it on Lifehacker and tried it. It worked, but it was a relatively short timezone difference for me.
 
Relax and enjoy the trip. You'll be so stressed by worrying about jetlag that you probably won't enjoy anything. Drink lots of water, have a good book, and a window seat. Enjoy RWC 2011.
 
Lots of good advice hereso far. I have flown to USA couple of times and it wasn't fun. The OP has never flown out of SA before so he can expect a HUGE surprise. These long flights are HELL and do not expect much from flight crew after lights out. Take lots of bottled water with you and snacks ecpecially chocolate. You dehydrate massively on these long pressurised flights and your bloodsuger also takes a big dip. Another tip I can give...take some Vaseline and rub it inside your nose throughout the flight...the dry pressurised air plays havoc on the inside of your nose, drying it out. After 13 hours of this you will be miserable. Get a neck pillow, eye"shades" and earplugs otherwise forget about sleeping. Wear the most comfortable clothes possible...tracksuit pants and stokies...I don't give a sh*t what I look like on an international flight. Also take as much carry on as allowed...the chances of your luggage getting lost or ransacked nowadays are about 60%.
 
Pitbull said:
Jet lag isn't so much lack of sleep. It's a whole balance issue which makes you feel tired. No real cure though. I can give you advice on what not to do if you plan on hitting the ground running. DO NOT TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF IN THE PLANE.

You won't be able to get them back on again when you land. I learned this the hard way, my feet where so swollen I had to walk through the whole airport in my white socks :(
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i always take my shoes off. make sure you wear loose shoes. but also wriggle your toes often & the best is to walk when ever possible. example queue for the loo, walk in ''one spot''.

walk around the plane while others sleep.

do not drink alcohol on the plane. it promotes water-retention which can agrivate if/how much your feet swell.

but then again i don't sleep on the plane.

i don't sleep the night before, purely coz i can't.

if i go to the UK:
sleepless night
flight night
bed midnight UK time
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, much appreciated. Will def wear the socks, and just set my tablet to the nz timezone(im sure theres an app out there that does this but I digress) will hit a window seat and some valium et al.
:D will streak during the sa wales game so keep a lookout lolz
 
If this is your first flight, you are going to be hyped up and there is nothing you can do about that. Drink water (lots), rest as best you can (catnap). As a previous poster pointed out jetlag is a combination of things not just sleep. Biggest problem on plane (other than lack of space) is dehydration, before cabin staff shut down for night, make sure you have a stock of water and juice, they also normally leave a selection out in the galley. Most of all just relax and enjoy!!!
 
TonyA said:
If this is your first flight, you are going to be hyped up and there is nothing you can do about that. Drink water (lots), rest as best you can (catnap). As a previous poster pointed out jetlag is a combination of things not just sleep. Biggest problem on plane (other than lack of space) is dehydration, before cabin staff shut down for night, make sure you have a stock of water and juice, they also normally leave a selection out in the galley. Most of all just relax and enjoy!!!
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While on this.

Don't eat any funny food the day or night before. Don't go out drinking and getting pissed. You have no idea how long a flight can be when your insides want out or if you have an off tummy ;)
 
Step 1: Take sleeping tablet WITH a dbl Brandy and Coke (its free so abuse it :D)
Step 2: Sleep for the entire flight
Step 3: Wake up at your first stop feeling like a million bucks.

i did this with my trip to france, quickest 9 hours of my life :)
 
Spend a couple days where you sleep and are awake at their time... That's what I do, and it helps a lot.

Otherwise, do the lack of sleep reset thing... basically, when you get there, stay up for a long time, fall asleep at around 10pm (there time), and try wake up at about 7am (there time). You should have started the body clock reset process. The first day always sucks though, and you need to be properly tired so you can do to bed at their 'normal' time...

The worst jetlag you get though, is when you get back home after a while in the other country I've found.
 
yes,

i find it more difficult to adjust back to SA time after being overseas.... Especially if you're there for 10days or more.

going's normally easier.
 
Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothes and shoes. Track suit or similar is good. Drink water to keep yourself hydrated. Consider getting one of those inflatable neck cushions. They help support your head when you try to sleep. Keep your passport/tickets/credit cards close at hand at all times. Don't put them in the overhead storage. Make a photocopy of your passport/tickets/credit cards and keep them separately.
 
One thing to add is walk in the plane every 2 hours it seems to help me and I always take off my shoes in the plane since my feet get uncomfortable with them on and then put them back on when we land.

Drink as much as you can cause you get dehydrated quite quick with the aircon in the plane.

I just sleep for 2 hours at a time and never get jetlag. I got nothing when I went to America in 2007. We left in the evening and arrived in the afternoon if I remember right.

We left from Jhb > France > Canada Toronto then left from Boston > France > Jhb

They give you neck pillows and blankets on the flight.

Best thing is to carry a moonbag and put all your valuable things like passports and credit cards plus tickets in. Makes it easily accessible and saves you carrying a bag.

ChilliGirl said:
yes,

i find it more difficult to adjust back to SA time after being overseas.... Especially if you're there for 10days or more.

going's normally easier.
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That's true I get Jetlag when I came back to SA (even from Israel) I had to sleep a lot for like a day or two.
 
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