jet lag! Horrible!?

Question

I'm visiting my grandmother in california, and I flew from Japan. Its like 18 hours different! I have jetlag, how can I solve and be able to sleep?!? I dont want to ruin my time here which is three weeks and this is my third day here at california, and the first day I had no problem sleeping, but the next few it took me 2 hours to catch rest. Any ways to avoid this problem?

Answer 1

oh...then u may go to health store to get this: Melatonin 3mg-5mg (tblet), half hr - 1 hr before slp. its help. pls dont exceed 6mg. if u can, get the sublingue form. n suck it under ur tougne, half hr - 1 hr before slp. Sublingue form, actually works wonderfully than tblet, cos it ll bypass our liver, n goes into our bloodstreams faster.

Infact, our body contains this Melatonin, but it ll deminish as we get older in age. its gd for pple w jetlap problems...

Answer 2

I'm a former Flight Attendant and I used to work a lot of Hong Kong-San Francisco's. I know exactly what you're experiencing.

I've had this rebound-type jet lag more often than not. First night, you were simply tired so you do sleep. You probably have stayed out late many times in the past and your body can adjust. After a couple of days, your body relizes this is actually a complete gear shift, not just a party or studying out late and then rebells...

First of all, to your body, it's only an 6 hour time difference, not 18 hours. Yes, officially Japan is 18 hours ahead but your body is registering 6 hours the other way. I also did transatlantics a lot, a few transcons and it wasn't much different.

I change my watch and avoid thinking about what time it is in the other place.

Late afternoon is the worst. Still, a long way to go till bed but I want to go now! Be around people. Get out of the house into the sunshine. If it's bad weather, head for the mall. Even calling someone can work. Being around non-jet lagged people is the best. On layovers, I'd take the bus and simply walk up and down the shopping district in whatever city, bumping elbows, wandering into the stores (buying too much but that's not the topic here...)

Give yourself a break! Go to bed at 8pm if you must. Don't get out of bed until 5am at the earliest. You can then adjust this schedule to something more reasonable each day. The idea is that you're on some sort of schedule, that sort of is on your new time zone. Don't feel that you have to plunge right into a normal schedule right away but get yourself on one asap if not already. This prevents that annoying zombie feeling.

If you get up in the middle of the night, keep the lights down low, read a book, grab something to eat, visit the bathroom (maybe not all in that order ;) and head back to bed! Don't stress sleep. Stay away from computers, televisions and any computer games if that applies. The light from these gizmos represses sleep, even if they don't seem bright. Even if you only lie in bed with your eyes closed, you're helping your body rest and it's almost as good as sleep.

Google "melatonin" and read up on this substance in the brain that regulates the body clock and processes light. Yes, I've taken it in pill form and it can work. I have a history of drug allergies but with this I'm fine since it's not something "foreign". If you want to give it a go, start with 1mg, although 3mg is more often sold. Either way, knowing how melatonin works is helpful to understand what is going on.

Lastly, remember that a lot of dehydrating symptoms are similar to those with jet lag. Airplane air is very dry and you've come off a long flight exposed to it. Keep drinking because it helps both and you probably have both at the same time!

Good luck and hang in there!

Answer 3

I know how you feel! I've gone through that many times.
First, set your watch to California time, and try to keep normal hours at the time you're at. It'll be hard the first few days (they say it takes about one day per hour of difference). Wake up in the morning at a decent hour, even if you're still sleepy. Then try to go the whole day without a nap, and go to bed at a decent hour. Eventually, your body will start to adjust.
Good luck!

P.S. Some people say that drinking milk helps a lot.

Answer 4

Flying east is the worst. The other person is right, try melatonin to reset your clock. Get as much sun during the day as possible, also helps reset. Drink lots of water--dehydration is common and adds to jet lag. Can you go swimming? Also good.

On the return trip, eat lightly the few days before, drink lots of water and no alcohol, do as much stretching on the plane as you can, and get out in the sunshine when you return. Going west should be better.

Answer 5

i've got achieved a good style of traveling, however, in no way this type of loopy schedule like that!! Wow, it relatively is wild!! when I get to the place i'm going, I only have a sturdy difficult sleep. i would be canine drained, yet I wait until eventually 9 or 10 pm close by time. Then I sleep all night until eventually I awaken clearly and then i'm wonderful. generally I sleep 11 or 12 hours, and that types me out.

Answer 6

I would recommend you just stick it out at this point. I've made the trip before and it usually takes 2 or 3 days before it finally hits me. Try to stick with the sun (Stay in bed until after sunrise and go to bed just after sunset)... it will reset your internal clock quicker. Also if necessary, get your hands on some sleeping pills, but only use these as a last resort.

Answer 7

I know it's awful, but it won't last much longer. Try as much as you can to resist the urge to sleep in the afternoon. Decide what time you'd like to go to bed, say, 10:00 pm, and do all you can to stay awake til then. You really will feel better in couple of days. To avoid going through the same thing on the way home, set your watch to Japanese time as soon as you get on the plane and try to follow your routines as much as you can while on the plane. Enjoy your visit to America!

Answer 8

Drink lots of water!!! Get a good nights sleep the first day... it will get easier.