Effect of jet lag?

[Cycling Naturalist]

I'm planning to take my first ever long haul flight and visit my son in New Zealand. What's the effect of jet lag likely to be?

 

[Kirstie]

It's not very nice, but is basically like having a head full of cotton wool for a few days. You generally make up one hour's time difference a day. There are lots of ways to alleviate it, but I take 'no jet lag' or 'jet ease' pills which are a homeopathic remedy - they tackle the symptoms and you feel less crap, but they only work if you don't drink booze on the plane. Another trick is to set your watch to the time of your destination as soon as you get on the plane. Some people also take sleeping pills but I had a horrible experience with them and wouldn't recommend it. I generally get over jetlag once I have arrived by switching to the new timezone straight away in terms of when to go to bed/get up. If I can't quite make it, copious drinking normally gets me through!

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Maz]

I heard you should force yourself to stay awake until local sleeping time to get over jetlag quickly.

 

[Funtboy]

I'm planning to take my first ever long haul flight and visit my son in New Zealand. What's the effect of jet lag likely to be?

What time of the day do you land?

 

[dan_bo]

It's usually worse going west.

 

[dan_bo]

get bladdered coming back.

 

[HLaB]

I did my 1st long haul flight since I was a kid to Australia, journeying I was fine I tried the keeping my self awake till local time but the next couple of days I really felt it. On the way back I never really noticed it, I guess what people say about journeying east and west is right.

 

[Fnaar]

I flew from Cardiff to Newcastle with a hangover... boy, that wasn't much fun....

 

[Kirstie]

Is it? I've always been fine travelling west to the USA. Coming back has been a nightmare. Maybe that's more to do with the fact that flights out are generally during the day though and flights back overnight.

Ditto. Going east always batters me.

 

[gavintc]

Personally, I find going west harder than going east.

Going east, just stay awake till normal bed time. Drinking and generally socialising with people you are visiting tends to provide a stimulus to stay awake. I can normally kill an east about jet lag in a couple of days.

Going west, I just wake up at horrid times, get tired and lethargic and I find it takes 3-4 days to get into a normal sleep pattern,

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

What time of the day do you land?

I haven't booked it yet, and judging by some of the dire descriptions here, I'm beginning to have second thoughts.

 

[Mr Phoebus]

Wales to New Zealand...you'll be feelin' sheepish.

 

[zimzum42]

start thinking in NZ time a few days before you set off

on the day you arrive, go to bed and get up at a normal time as much as you can

do you have a stopover in Singapore?

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

do you have a stopover in Singapore?

You're not suggesting a few strokes with the rattan cane to cure jet lag?

 

[domtyler]

As I am currently getting up about four times a night to re-settle a toddler cutting her back teeth I am struggling to find sympathy for those who freely choose to subject themselves to jet lag through this kind of environmental terrorism.

Kirsty, can you let me know more about the homeopathic pills please? What are the active ingredients?