Jet Lag

[LivWell]

Anyone have any tips for getting past jet lag? I came home on the 15th from a (solo) trip to Austria to visit a new grand-daughter and I have been pretty wiped out since!

For the record, TSA was more interested in my shampoo than my injectable meds. No questions asked, no need for the letter from my doctor. But the purchases I made in the airport duty free store -- they went through intense screening! Radio emissions from a jar of flavored honey?! I made sure to thank the agent - they get a lot of grumpy people who don't appreciate being delayed.

All in all travel went quite well. I had two long flights but packed light and took plenty of reading material. But, coming home has been a bigger adjustment than being overseas.

Yesterday I could barely keep my eyes open throughout the day. Maybe I just need to eliminate the things I didn't have to do while I was on vacation ... driving, doing my own cooking, laundry....... right?

[AMFADVENTURES]

Coming back home does seem to be the bigger adjustment. Melatonin never did much for me although others swore by it, but getting outdoors in the sunlight several times a day helped.

Getting outside, like walking in the sunlight or even just sitting on a bench in the sun for 15 to 30 minutes several times throughout the day, generally turned things back around within two to three days. It was also better to stay busy, especially in the evenings, and it helped NOT to give in to the urge to go to bed much earlier than you normally would.

Fun Trip?

[LivWell]

It was fun! My daughter and son-in-law gave me the royal treatment and took me to see all the sights in Vienna.

(Slideshow...)



I'll try hanging out in the sun on the front porch for a bit this afternoon.

[ActiveMSers]

Loved the slide show LivWell. Brought back lots of fantastic memories. My wife and I went to Vienna for our 10th wedding anniversary. (That palace is pretty crazy.) I remember that we stayed at a small inn in downtown near the church....

[garyp]

Advice from someone who goes to Europe reasonably often...

LivWell:

I am English, live in the U.S.. Go to Europe reasonably often to see family.

What I am about to say will not help you now. Is more for next time.

The issue is two big time zone changes in a reasonably short period of time. Your body can handle one big change going over - it is the second one in a row in a short period of time that hurts.

My advice if go to Europe again - don't do the overnight west to east (US to Europe) flight on the way out. You can take a day flight from the busier U.S. cities to busier cities in Europe. The flight leaves early in the day in the U.S. and arrives in the late evening in Europe around 8pm to 10pm. You can then go straight to bed. Then take an onward flight to final destination the next morning.

If you take the overnight flight...you miss a good night's sleep which really takes it out of you. Then you arrive first thing in the morning in Europe - so have to stay awake all day until going to sleep that night. Then your body does not have time to recover before another big time zone change on the way back.

It takes a day for each hour of time zone change to recover and get back to normal.

As example, you can get a 7:15am departure from Newark, NJ to London. Arrives 7:15pm. Or here is a 9:20am flight you can get from Washington Dulles to London which arrives 9:55pm.

[LivWell]

This is great info and the adjustment time in days was exactly what I experienced.

I'll file this away with my passport for the next trip!

Thank you!