Gary at Azazil.net has a method to prevent suffering from jet lag after a half-day flight. There are, obviously, factors that may not make his process universal and it may really just come down to well timed sleep deprivation. However, a method is a method and if it works, it works.
Here is the technique I’ve successfully used this time, for a 14 hour flight on Wednesday morning, spanning 8 timezones:
- 1. On Monday night stay up as late as reasonably possible. I made it to 2:30am.
- 2. On Tuesday morning, don’t set an alarm, just wake up naturally. I woke up after 10am.
- 3. On Tuesday night, don’t sleep at all. The key to this is finding something engaging to occupy yourself. I finished upgrading my blog to a new WP-2.1 compatible theme.
- 4. Once on the plane, take as many short naps as you need. I had a two hour nap after the first meal around 2pm (per the timezone I had just left)
- 5. Don’t go to bed at the hotel until at least 10pm in the destination timezone. I managed to stay up until midnight
- 6. Set an alarm for your usual wakeup time in the new timezone. Even if you wake before the alarm, try not to get up. I woke up for the bathroom around 4:30am, but went back to sleep until my alarm sounded at 7:30am
Lifehack.org has also covered a little quick-fix jet lag preventer. What helps you avoid it?
How To Avoid Jet Lag – [azazil.net]
I have traveled a lot from Australasia to Asia, Europe and South America and I use a very simple method.
The important thing is to be ready for your destination.
If you arrive at your destination early in the morning then be as rested as possible so as to be able to last the day out and go to bed at a normal time.
If you arrive at night then arrive as tired as possible so you can go to bed straight away.
It works.
I’ve tried this method to no avail. My usual routine involves doses of sleeping pills, a watch with an alarm, and some red bull to bring me back to the land of the living.
I advise in my book that business travelers on a short trip try and plan their meetings during their home time zone’s mid-day hours, because your body won’t have enough time to adjust otherwise. Also, let sunshine in as much as possible during the day in order to re-set your body clock.
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