so... anorexic people don't get jet lag?

wolfenstein-3d

This could work. I mean, US airlines are starting to charge you $10 for a bagel (no free food, at least on American).

berribrand

Dear Diabetics,

Please keep eating on schedule. Deal with the jet lag.

-Ax

axiomatic

meal replacement protein shakes instead of solid meals have helped me over long flights. I consume fruit and shakes every 3 hours. This keeps me light and comfortable without compromising on nutrition.

iceman7

Fasting and starving yourself are two completely different things. People fast all the time for various reasons. Just think of it as a "cleanse".

ClaytonLlamapants

I have to say that does not always work. Reason being airport security is at its maximum, and you tend to see people who do not eat or have stomach upsets in the air get a lot of hassle at customs. They take it that you either have drugs or something in your system and obviously if you eat you poo and then it comes out. So some staff take you not eating as if your trying to hide something. By all means try the method but be observant to anyone who does get grief in the airport because they did not each on the aircraft.

UnnaBanana

@semmem1:
Keep Post-It notes in your bag and write a note if you want something left (or don't want to be disturbed).

Kafka

Drink lots of water, and eat food that gets easily digested.

If you travel to a not so distant time zone your troubles would be almost the same as either oversleeping or the opposite to that.

If you travel to Europe, consider changing your sleeping pattern beforehand (prior to your trip), there's an 8 to 12 hours (depending on your departure and arrival time zones), so adjust to it.

Keep your eating light for the first days, and keep drinking lots of water.

Dress accordingly if your trip involves a weather change. Consider that most tropical regions have a humidity percentage that could potentially make difficult to breathe at first.

whiskey

Horrible solution. Just set your watch forward when you get on the plane. Dehydration and the headaches you're gonna get are far worse than a little jetlag from this solution.

Glamdering

hell no. They don't give you enough food or water on the plane as it is, and now you can't bring your own water.

jordan314

Starving yourself is indeed a bit extreme. I travel to Asia at times, and I don't need to go so far to adjust to the 12 hour jet lag. All I do is fight the urge to sleep on the flight, and when I arrive try to stay awake until night time at your destination. That usually gets me on normal schedule at the new timezone pretty quickly.

ww2db.com

I think I've done this unintentionally. First off, I don't think we should call it "starving". Twelve hours without food is unlikely to put any modern flying human into starvation. Fasting, yes.

Brief fasts (12-24hrs) are associated with heightened mental awareness and acuity - so I've always been fascinated by them. That being said I can never quite manage to fast when I'm at home or work. With travel though, it's easier. I routinely never eat anything from about lunch or dinner the night before travel until the first time-appropriate meal in my arrival location. Sometimes that's just 8 hours (domestic), sometimes it's longer (12+). I also seem to be less affected by jet lag. N=1 is hardly meaningful, but my experience suggests this could be true.

acloudman

I'll try this tip next time I fly long haul. I normally eat everything the airline gives me. The in-flight movies just keep me awake throughout the trip (gotta get what I paid for lol) and then fall flat asleep for 10+ hours once I arrive.

qugeist

The article doesn't say how you should go about doing this
Do you not eat for the flight, or for like a day prior to the flight?
And then when do you eat again? As soon as you land, or at the destination's next meal time?

coocookuhchoo

I travel a lot Europe US (I live in Europe). I take a day flight to the US to land early afternoon. Getting off the airport, renting a car etc. makes me being at the hotel about 17:00.
Then I eat something I like and I know I digest well (which is 99% of the food :)).
And go to bed at 18:00-19:00. I usually wake up at 3-4 am, try to force a bit to wake up at 5am (but usually end up being up at 4), I call my family, fire up internet etc until breakfast.
Then a full day of work and end up about 18, have a dinner and go to bed around 20. Wake up at 4-5 and so on.

I eat on the plane (come on - food is not that bad, especially on business class with European carriers. I do not even mention Asian carriers which are fantastic. A special hello to my friendly crew at Singapore Airlines :))

Th advantage is that:
- Americans start at the office early - great
- Americans leave the office reasonably early - great
- the morning is usually more packed than the afternoon and you are usually able to go for a quick dinner and make it to bed early
- you stay more or less on European time (especially the wake up time)
- with a night flight back (and on business/first) you may get a reasonable sleep (I usually get about 4 hours, sometimes 5, rarely 6)
- if you have a baby you are used to crazy sleeping patterns anyway :)

I have a good friend (who will surely read this) who has no concept of jet lag. He flies with me, goes to bed in the US on the first night at 22:00 or so, wakes up at 8am and is fine - fully reprogrammed. OK, this is a weird case, I admit :)

Wojtek Swiatek

I normally have my own personal ritual of eating an enormous quantity of food before traveling - seeing as how I won't be able to eat that local food for some time.
Aside from my problem with gluttony, I had no idea this could affect my jet lag recovery. I often suffer severe jet lag and I am definitely going to try this tip out.
Thanks.

Louise

LouiseVin

Fasting for 16 hours is not a good idea if you're diabetic. Besides, I'm fortunate that my company pays to fly me in Business Class, so I don't want to pass up the decent meals they serve on the overseas flights.

As far as resetting my body clock, I just force myself through the first day in Walking Dead mode, and force myself to stay in bed at night, even if my body is screaming at me to get up at 2:00 a.m. I just try not to think about how awake I am.

It's a +14-hour time shift for me, so it takes a few days to really get switched over.

cipheroid

A completely different approach is being studied which involves no deprivation of sleep, food, or anything else. It combines acupressure and focused attention to reset the body clock incrementally while flying. Acupressure approaches have a long history and this is an update making the method much easier. Numerous anecdotal success stories have led to a larger survey meant to accumulate more objective data. Anyone flying across three or more time zones by the end of June 2008 who has experienced jet lag in the previous year is invited to participate. More information at www.jetlagpassport.com

NinoAbadon

I just flew back to the states from Bahrain on Friday (7 hour time difference). I have made this trip 13 times before. After spending only 5 days in Bahrain and sufferring through a stomach situation that did not allow me to eat anything the day before I left I have noticed an easier transition back into east coast time.

ltwalt

I would like to give a big sarcastic clap to everyone who says you should get up and go to sleep at local time, really, genius.
Im actually quite interested in this idea. Although as pointed out starving isnt natural neither is traveling across 8 time zones in 7 hours.
I think peoples bodies react differently. As much as I can get used to shift work and working nights I really suffer from jet lag. no matter how much I get my body in tune to local time it makes me ill when traveling east.
I might give this a go next time.

sacred_hoops

I'm a veteran international airline captain and fly to and from Europe 5 times a month. Although I don't sleep or drink alcohol during the flight, as many passengers do, I lightly fast prior to the flight, eat extremely light during the flight (generally salad/bread/cheese), take a 2-3 hour nap upon morning arrival, and continue on the "local" time zone for meals and sleep. I've found that light eating and minimum alcohol, coupled with volumes of water takes care of most jet lag effects. Melatonin has some disquieting side effects and has not been used for many years. Tylenol PM can help sleep problems, but overuse can cause mild addiction and worse sleep problems. Staying in fairly good physical shape also helps these problems. My overnights are 24 hours for the most part, and I then experience these same effects upon return, so I have three days of light eating, minimum alcohol, local time zone acclimation, and bit of exercise really helps.

PeggyAlcinous

@theNitwit: This worked for me. I'm awake most days at 5am. (Don't even own an alarm clock.) Our flight to europe was at 10:30pm and I got zero sleep on the way over. I can't sleep on anything that moves.

As it was the first day in London, we ran about all day and I didn't go to bed until 10pm London time so that meant, what, 37hrs later? I slept very well and woke at about 6am local time. I didn't experience a trace of jet-lag.

Jim (The Canuck One)

I prefer a method that involves no planning ahead except to schedule your flight so you arrive no sooner than early evening. Then, when you get there, just hit the pubs and keep drinking until you pass out. The following day just rely on the effects of your hangover to get you to bed at a decent hour. Time adjustment complete.

24wm

I travel a lot between the US and India, HK, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea. My usual method to overcome jetlag is to sleep a lot on the flight. I have actually managed to do this on multiple US-India-US flights: sleep 8 hours straight on flight 1 (typically to Frankfurt), stay awake for about 4-5 hours during the landing (of flight 1)+ layover + takeoff (of flight 2), then sleep again for 8 hours straight in flight 2 (typically to Bangalore). Repeat on return flight! :) This method has always worked magic for me because I usually don't have any jetlag.

My flights are scheduled so I reach the destination on either a Friday or a Saturday afternoon. That way, in worst case, I use up the weekend for sleeping.

Food wise, I usually don't eat too much before and during the trip and sometimes I avoid the horrible flight food completely! :)

Sleep-wise, I usually stay awake the whole night before a long flight and use that time to get laundry and packing done.

srmdesi

small but important point as various commenters have suggested- East to West is much less of a problem than West to East. it may be that e-w (say UK to USA) is essentially like a very late night but w-e you lose hours and that messes with your head.

ffolliet

@Silver_Back: Oh, almost forgot. I'll also zonk out on the flight so I can save energy and not hungry. Occasionally, I'll wake up and ask for some water or OJ then back to sleep again! :) I probably make the guy/gal who sits next to me a lot happier because of all my sleeping!

Silver_Back

That's weird. I didn't know about this. However, my excuse for not eating while flying for long hours (18 hours) is because I feel ill sickly if I eat. If I don't I'm fine and dandy. I will however drink orange juice and water to keep hydrated which is absolutely necessary. I think it maybe my (irrational?) fear of airline toilets being naaaasty! If I ever do eat I'll eat a veggie meal (even though I'm not vegetarian) because it's light and simple.

Silver_Back

Whats jet lag? For destinations that are ahead of me in time, I catch an overnight flight, sleep on the plane, and wake up on time in my new time zone. For the opposite, I catch a flight that arrives during day or early evening, and follow my normal sleep patterns using local time. Ive done this for years and Im always fully operational every time.

Lazarus

Well when I traveled to Japan a few months back, I was able to adjust my sleep schedule closer to the time zone so I'm sure that helped, but at the same time something that helped me was NOT eating when I got there. The last thing I had to eat was 6pm Tokyo time and I didn't get to my destination in Hiroshima until around midnight. Took a shower, went to bed, and work up at 9am ready to go, jet lag free. So starve yourself when you get there, not before.

@jrghoull:

I have a lot of friends that traveled with college groups, but honestly my best experiences have been just me or possibly a friend. You can always make friends in other countries and travel around with them.

liquidglass

Insomnia seems to work well for me. Just never sleep, and jetlag never seems to be a problem.

Darkenigma75

If you don't like sleeping pills, melatonin also does the trick.

...or only fly west, if possible. I seem to have an easier time adjusting when I go west, which I discovered when my family flew around the world in 2000.

karlawithak

Hi, you misspelled anti in the last sentence.

yaksox

It takes me only about 2 days to adjust to a 12 hour jetlag. I think I'm used to it or something.

Dooga

I just realized one of your links was back to a story on the light/dark seeking theory that surfaced several months ago. nevermind!

glitch1138

British Airways has done some interesting studies on jet lag and, with the help of UK's leading sleep expert Dr. Chris Idzikowski, created a anti-jet lag schedule creator. It involves seeking and avoiding light at a set schedule based upon the time difference.

The calculator is here:

[www.britishairways.com]

glitch1138

@loh: Good call on that broadcast. NPR is awesome!

I'll be flying from Asia to the US later in the week and may give this a try then report back. Of course, this thread will be buried by then...

And Adam, shouldn't it be "anti-jetlag tips"? At least that would make more sense to my mind.

ngallion

@ vered

When I have gone to Israel, I found that staying up the entire flight makes you so tired that falling asleep the night you arrive in Israel is so easy. Then if you wake up on local time the next morning you are ready to go and the change over has taken place. The difficult part is staying awake when you arrive in Israel for the rest of the day before going to bed at night.

Jordan25

Well I can test this on the way back from Thailand next week. The 13 hour time change is killer! With all the traveling I do any advantage helps.

urbanride

I find it hard to believe that starving yourself is ever a good idea.

I subscribe to the trick of staying up with the sun and going to bed when it gets dark, regardless of how much you have to force yourself to stay awake the first day. I would think the body adjusts to sunlight much better than starvation or artificial sleeping aids. Keeping with the sun's cycle has always worked for me, anyway.

OX4

@AbinaMonart regarding your 'body clock' on hold methods, you have no idea what you're on about.

inboulder1

lol that may explain why my jet lag has been virtually non existent. i would be too up the night before to sleep, so i would get up the next day not being hungry, and then not eat till lunch on the plane. usually i adjusted automatically (or just about) to the time.

god...i wish i was traveling this summer. word from the wise...traveling is sweet as hell, especially when you go with colleges so that you really see the area and dont just wind up doing the whole tour thing.

jrghoull

I'm a pilot stationed in Japan and travel back and forth to the states about 7 to 10 times a year, so jet lag is my constant companion. Best tips I can give: get on the sleep schedule for your new time zone as quickly as possible... once you get on the jet, change your watch and start thinking and eating in terms of your new time. If you're a passenger, stay up late/go to bed early the night before the flight to interrupt your cycle. Stay up until bed time when you arrive and then take Ambien or similar for 2-3 nights after you arrive. If you're going to be in the time zone for a while (like the trip home), try taking melatonin, it regulates the sleep cycle. Also, wear sunglasses during the day and use a sound machine/white noise generator at night because even little things can wake you from a sleep when your body doesn't think you should be sleeping and then it might be hours before you get to sleep again.

heymeadows

Here's a link to a recent story on NPR about this subject:
Science Friday

loh

I can't speak for fasting, but a technique I've used quite successfully on several trips from the west coast to Europe is this one. The day before the flight, have a good pasta meal, to stock up on carbs. Then the day of the flight, I only drink fruit and veggie juices - I do not have any coffee or regular food. This puts the body clock on hold. Then when I'm on the leg that takes me to Europe, I get on the plane and immediately get comfy and sleep. I don't eat the dinner they bring around. Then, when they serve breakfast, I chow down - coffee time! This helps me not miss any time in Paris or the UK on the first day. Yeah, I'm pretty tired at the end of the first day but I don't have any side effects. Then, on the return, I've stayed awake the entire flight. Yeah, it's a pain, but it works. No jet lag for me. When my daughter went in the other direction, to Australia, we had her shift her time clock so she was on Aussie time before she left. She said that helped tremendously - she says get a flight that arrives at night and don't sleep the whole time on the flight, so you can crash and wake up on their time.

AbinaMonart

A bad idea if you ask me. You need to stay hydrated on planes, especially long plane rides to avoid a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) Starving yourself would increase the chance of this happening.

CarrollNuddletits

I'll be flying with my wife and infant to Australia soon, from the pacific northwest, USA. We stop in LA first, and then it's a 14.5 hour flight, and there's a 17 hour time difference!

So far I like czarandy's method best. I like food.

raidzero550

@semmem1:
that only happen with domestic flight. So far on all my international flight all the steward had been absolutely wonderful.

dhlt25

I cope with a 10-hour time change (Israel) once a year. Yes, the first week is always weird and I'm very tired, but really, it's not such a big deal and definitely not worth starving yourself. Plus, if you are prone to motion sickness, like I am, flying on an empty stomach is NOT a good idea.

vered

An easy way to switch over to the right time is to stay up till your normal bedtime in the new time zone (this should be easy the first night), then take a sleeping pill to make sure you sleep 8 hours. Then you should be fine.

You can also do it without drugs, but it won't work as consistently because you are likely to wake up early the next morning.

czarandy

@daybringer:

Except when you fall asleep on the plane, they always skip over you when they are giving out those tasty pretzels. *Shakes fist at JetBlue steward!!!

semmem1

My method is to not sleep for as long as possible and then only allow myself to sleep at the arrival destination's night-time. Going 24 hours without sleep on a plane can really get you used to sleeping at the right time pretty easily.

theNitwit

Starving yourself is certainly extreme. I'd rather have no sleep for 11 hours rather than having no food for that same amount of time!

aukreaz

Or you could just adjust your sleep schedule until you leave so you are really tired getting on the plane and just sleep through the flight and get those tasty pretzels and salt water.

daybringer

I travel to Asia five to six times per year and I don't suffer from jet lag.

I use this blue light (goLITE) to shift my body clock when traveling between US and East Asia. Small, battery powered, fits in my carry-on. I also stay awake the entire flight (usually finish two good books each way) and pick flight schedules where I arrive in the evening so I can go straight to bed. The fasting thing can actually work (just ask people in Myanmar, a 10 to 24 hour fast is NOT STARVATION, people) but I don't do it; I'm a food addict.

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