Ah, here we are back in Germany after spending the holidays in the US. We’ve made the transatlantic journey dozens of times by now, and while I still dread the long flights, at least I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with jet lag (although people who have repeatedly watched me fall asleep in my first-night-in-the-US dinner might disagree). Given that I’ve never been good with sleep deprivation (even in college I couldn’t swing all-nighters), I’m feeling rather accomplished.
There are many approaches to jet lag, but mine is a simple one: you need to be overtired going into your first night in the new time zone. That way, when you finally fall into bed, you’ll sleep for a a good solid night and wake up at a reasonable time the next morning. After that first night, you’re most of the way home.
Traveling from Europe to the US is the easier direction. Flights usually depart Germany in the morning and arrive in the US in the afternoon, giving you a day that’s six hours longer than normal (to the East Coast). Napping on the flight is fine, if you can manage to sleep in such conditions. Once you arrive in your destination, stay up! It’s probably just a few hours more before a reasonable bedtime rolls around. We usually end up crashing around 9 or 10 pm, and then waking up at 5 or 6 am. Usually I’m a night person, so I actually enjoy the novelty of the first couple days of being an early riser in the US. We use this as a rare chance to enjoy the sunrise or go out for an early-morning walk or run. Just don’t plan any late dinners for your first couple evenings in the US, and you’re fine (but if you do need to be alert for late nights, try to hold out for a later bedtime that first night to aid your adjustment).
Traveling from the US to Europe is a little more painful, but by following my own rules I can at least limit the pain to a single day. Flights in this direction are usually overnight, arriving in Germany in the morning. Sleep as much as you can on the plane, but if you’re not a plane-sleeper (as I am not), don’t torture yourself with neck pains and dry mouth – enjoy a book or a movie instead.
What you do after you land is the important part: stay awake! If you absolutely must nap, do it for no more than 1-2 hours in the morning. Then get up and stay active – distract yourself from how tired you are. When we have visitors arriving from the US, I take them out for a walk around the city on their first day, keeping them away from the temptations of bed. For myself, I try to stay active with tasks that don’t require too much brain power: unpacking, getting groceries, organizing my studio, etc. Reading (or any other activity that involves sitting on the couch) is verboten, as the temptation to sleep is too great. I turn on all the lights in the apartment and listen to music or podcasts to help convince myself that now is the time to be awake. Then around 9 pm I allow myself to crawl into bed for the most anticipated night of sleep of the year. If I’ve done it right, I’ll sleep all night and be able to wake up the next morning without too much difficulty (although I’m often groggier than usual – to be expected given that wake-up is occurring 6 hours before my body expects it to). That’s another key – wake up to an alarm the first few days back in Europe, rather than letting yourself sleep in. Otherwise the temptation to become nocturnal can be overwhelming.
Another tip I follow is trying to avoid carbohydrates as much as possible during and after the trip, as they tend to enhance drowsiness. I drink coffee strategically and try not to overdo it, as feeling overtired and jittery is even worse than just plain overtired. Water is your friend – drink lots of it before, during, and after the flight.
What’s your approach to jet lag?
Awesome post! Weeeee! Jet lag! I agree very much! My new issue is now traveling to and from U.S.A. & Australia, where you gain/lose a day each way. Worked it out OK, as I had a flight that landed in America at about 4pm (but I was awake for over 30 hours before I finally hit the sack at 10pm), and the flight back to Oz landed at 7pm-ish.
Happy New Year!
As I am reading this, I am fighting jet lag after returning back to Berlin from Mexico last night — I wholeheartedly agree with the tips in your post! Today I’m doing laundry, grocery shopping, yoga, just about everything I can to stay awake and settle into the time zone. Traveling West is always the easier direction for me, although it’s a little more extreme since it’s a 9-hour difference visiting my family on the West Coast.
I used to be pretty good with jet lag. But age has made my mind and body clock less flexible.
I kinda gave up fighting jet lag on my last trip from Melbourne to London via Auckland and LAX,—in 2006, if memory serves. I rigorously kept myself awake for the new time zone, but made the mistake of going out to the theatre that evening. I literally was nodding off, and I don’t think it was the play. Mind you, I can’t remember what the play was, so the subject matter could have had something to do with it.
By the way…is beer a carbohydrate? If so, I’m still recovering from jet lag I picked up in 1996.
One can have trouble sorting out jet lag from drunk lag.
Strange, I actually have more trouble going to the States than back to Europe — I try staying up late upon arrival in the US, but I usually end up waking in the middle of the night for a couple hours –then it takes me 2-3 days before I’m fully on local time.
Coming back to Europe is a snap — although I violate your rules: I take a nap upon arrival back in my apartment — usually 3-4 hours, then I get up, go shopping, to the gym, or whatever, and go to bed at my usual time in the evening. The next morning, I’m on German time.
Great jet lag tips, Jul. What do you think of Melatonin tablets? We use them for the first three or four days a half-hour before bedtime, and find it gives a more restful sleep. The last day we’ll break them in half to lower the dose.
@A Touch – Happy new year to you, too!
@Mandi – Hope the lag goes away quickly!
@HH – Actually, you may be on to something there. Sometimes beer is the perfect remedy for jet lag.
@TQE – Are you generally a morning person? I wonder if that makes a difference as to which direction is easier.
@Ian – I tried melatonin several years back, but I guess I didn’t notice them making much of a difference for me. “More restful sleep” does sound like quite the endorsement, though. Perhaps I’ll pick up another bottle sometime.
I read somewhere that a 1/4 tab of Viagra is supposed to help with jet-lag no matter your in-pants equipment (but for only one direction: going West to East, I believe). I’ve never suffered enough to want to try. I can only imagine going to the pharmacy “It’s for jet lag, I swear!”
I’m with you, Jul. I’ve tried melatonin many times, and they seem to make no difference at all.
Well you know my methods…never turn down a chance to crawl into bed with a fat kitty..even if it is in the middle of the day and you find yourself talking to that cat in the middle of the night!
If you are lucky, you might have a doctor that will prescribe Provigil. Jetlag is an off-label use for it, but it works wonders. Just take one pill on arrival. You are still aware of your fatigue, but you don’t hit by the sleepiness. When it comes to go to sleep, you can sleep fine.
This discovery made our trips back and forth to Germany a lot less painful.
Whole heartedly agree with your tips. I long to be a plane sleeper, but I am not. At all. I find that when coming to Europe from the US it´s much easier for me to take a quick nap, then do mindless things…..before yes! the most anticipated sleep of the year!
Unfortunately, I end up being rather nocturnal for the first week or so anyway.
When flying overnight flights, staying up the night before the flight and being dead tired getting on the plane helps me become a plane sleeper. Also, no heavy drinking- a glass of wine with dinner (if I stay awake long enough for it to be served) is plenty.
Otherwise, I agree.
@Mark – I hear that membership in the Mile-High Club has soared ever since that recommendation came out.
@HH – Ah, but the idea of a helpful pill sounds so lovely. Maybe if I just believe hard enough it will work next time…
@Kim – Hey, whatever works for you. 🙂
@Mr. Nosuch – Sounds intriguing.
@Mandy – Oh how I envy plane sleepers.
@Chuck – I agree, long-haul flights are one of the few places where alcohol doesn’t appeal to me much (even when people with carts keep rolling by and offering it to me for free!).