Bill,
Thinking of taking off for Italy again...what pill works best against jet lag..going and coming back? Be gone at least 3 weeks...
Jet Lag
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Your MD can prescribe meds. But I avoid them.
Melatonin can be obtained from most health food stores. Your body produces melatonin at night to make you feel sleepy. So you can force yourself into a new cycle with a few nights of melatonin taken an hour before bed. Some warm milk helps as well. That releases the amino acid tryptophan, which also makes you feel sleepy. Turkey meat is also high in tryptophan, which partially explains why you feel sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.
Another key thing is to get your eyes into the proper day/night cycle. Light hitting your retinas is what phase-lock-loops your body into the proper day/night cycle (when to release melatonin). When you land in Europe in the AM, DO NOT go to bed. Get on their time ASAP. The first day is a bitch, but it isn't as bad afterwards.
I never seem to have trouble when traveling back west. But that's me. When I spend a few days out on the west coast, I just get up on east coast time and do a workout before their normal work. Then I'm feeling good when I start my work day. And I never really get off of east coast time.
Again... Get on the new time zone ASAP. Do not nap during the days in your new time zone - no matter how tempting it is. Get your eyes out in the daylight, and go to sleep only at night.
Bill
Melatonin can be obtained from most health food stores. Your body produces melatonin at night to make you feel sleepy. So you can force yourself into a new cycle with a few nights of melatonin taken an hour before bed. Some warm milk helps as well. That releases the amino acid tryptophan, which also makes you feel sleepy. Turkey meat is also high in tryptophan, which partially explains why you feel sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.
Another key thing is to get your eyes into the proper day/night cycle. Light hitting your retinas is what phase-lock-loops your body into the proper day/night cycle (when to release melatonin). When you land in Europe in the AM, DO NOT go to bed. Get on their time ASAP. The first day is a bitch, but it isn't as bad afterwards.
I never seem to have trouble when traveling back west. But that's me. When I spend a few days out on the west coast, I just get up on east coast time and do a workout before their normal work. Then I'm feeling good when I start my work day. And I never really get off of east coast time.
Again... Get on the new time zone ASAP. Do not nap during the days in your new time zone - no matter how tempting it is. Get your eyes out in the daylight, and go to sleep only at night.
Bill
