jet lag

[vikki67]

I'm off to OZ (Brisbane) without a stopover, I was wondering what is the best way to prevent jetlag,or certainly how to make it more bearable. Is there anything that we can do in the weeks leading up to going and after we've arrived.

Vikki xxx

[oldmegan]

We flew London, Bangkok, Sydney a few years ago. My best advice would be to drink loads and loads of water and try and resist the free booze as much as possible. When you stop to refuel, try and walk around for most of the time to get the blood pumping and the feeling back in your legs. Most experts advise travellers to adjust to the time of your destination asap. We did that, but found it very difficult. We arrived feeling dazed but not too bad considering. In Brisbane, don't miss the Breakfast Creek Hotel which serves massive steaks and is byo. I'm jealous!!

[lafrancaise]

I was told years ago that flying westwards caused less jet lag than flying eastwards. This I did and I really had no problem (did the round trip). The ideal is to arrive late evening so you can go to bed straight away and as oldmegan says resist the booze and drink water and walk up and down the aisles every hour or so.

[misstery]

What they said - tons of water, lots of trips to the bathroom and try to sleep or at least cat nap in between. I usually suffer horridly from jet lag just going between the UK and California. Now that I live between the UK and Australia I've had to work on it and I've gotten it down to just being dazed and confused rather than completely ill for several days.

Stay off the alcohol and don't spend the entire flight watching the movies. Close your eyes and rest. I tried taking Arnica which you can get from Boots. I'm not sure if it helped as that was the flight where I made a point of water, toilet and sleep. I didn't take Arnica for subsequent flights and didn't notice any worse jet lag.

When you get there do not let yourself sleep in til 2pm - it's a temptation but you'll waste your holiday. I succumb to sleeping pills for the first night to force myself to sleep. After that it's usually ok, not perfect but you are on the other side of the world.

[mrs to be]

Luck you!! I take melatonin for jet lag. It isn't possible to get it in UK, so I get lots of it every time I'm in USA. You can order it online from vitaminsdirect.com, and it is very cheap. It promotes natural sleep, and is found naturally in the body, but depletes as we get older. You should take up to 3mg per night, after the flight , for a few nights. I use it regularly, and it works for me. Have a great time.

[ojread2]

You can get melatonin in the UK - just google it for where to buy

OJ
x

[vikki67]

Thanks for the replies. I'll have a go with the water-sleep thing and try the melatonin I think..

I can't wait....

Vikki xxx