I am one of those people that can't sleep on planes. It doesn't matter if I am in the back of the bus in economy or in a lie flat bed in business class, I have never been able to sleep. I'll doze off for a bit and then wake up fully and not be able to go back to sleep. I've had this problem long before I started collecting miles and points and I have suffered because of it. On my first ever trip to Australia when I was in high school I slept maybe 2 hours on a 16 hour flight. The most I have ever slept on an overnight trip to Europe is a good hour. As a result the first day of a long trip is usually ridiculously hard for me. The jet lag is horrible and I have to push myself to get past feeling like a zombie and stay up as late as possible to adjust to a new timezone.
Everyone has their strategies to avoid jet lag, and while I haven't found mine it seems that science has figured out the best methods, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, to convince your body that it may be two am at home, but it's really seven am where you are.
A researcher from Chicago had to make a trip to Egypt for work and she used a strategy, starting three days before she left, to try and minimize her jet lag. As you can see from the graphic below, from the Wall Street Journal story, she tried to move her bedtime back an hour each day and woke up an hour earlier before her flight. She also choose to take the hormone Melatonin. In the mornings she exposed herself to a light box or as much natural daylight as possible to tell her body to wake up. During her flight to London she slept for the first part and then watched movies to try and wake up. Then on her flight to Egypt she napped for some of the flight and then got a full nights sleep when she arrived in Cairo. The next day she exposed herself to as much natural light as possible to get her adjusted.
Other researchers have found that jet lag mainly comes from our bodies internal clock not being able to adjust to new light cycles. They say for the average person it takes about three days to adjust to a new timezone. As you age that can take even longer.
As I get ready to take our epic trip to Australia and Asia in July I am going to have to try to figure out the best way to sleep and adjust to vastly different timezones from what I am used to. The long flights all over the world are going to necessitate sleep so I read this story with interest. But I know that the average frequent flyer has their own strategies. So...let me know what you do. What strategies do you use to avoid jet lag? Can you not sleep on planes like me, do you have any strategies that have worked?
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I can't sleep in moving vehicles either. I can't explain why not, but I'm lucky to get an hour or two of sleep (and it's usually broken into 20-minute chunks, not one continuous nap).
ReplyDeleteThe two things that seem to help me the most:
1. Being well-rested in the week or two leading up to my flight. At least that way I'm not compounding my exhaustions and instead I'm pulling a single all-nighter. I always intend to shift my bedtimes, but I usually have trouble adapting more than an hour or so.
2. Forcing myself to stay out through at least early evening. I like to plan something with some movement involved: bike tours (or similar) have worked wonders since the fresh air and sunlight make it easier to adjust and the social interaction keeps me alert. If I can stay out til 5 or 6 and then eat an early dinner, I don't feel so bad calling it a night at 8pm on the first day. By morning, I usually am doing okay.
I completely understand! It's never good sleep for me. But these are great suggestions! I know number 2 will come in handy. Guessing it's going to just be pushing myself to stay awake as long as possible. :)
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