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 There are a number of methods which don't involve
popping pills.
Don't depart with a hangover, and get a good
night's sleep the night before leaving. Drink plenty of water in
the dry cabin atmosphere, and avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Use blindfolds, earplugs, inflatable pillows,
a blanket, a walkman - anything to promote sleep. Exercise is
important to stop limbs from swelling, so walk the aisles, stand
and stretch whenever possible.
If available on a long-haul stopover, jump
into a shower. It will perk you up no end and get the
circulation going again.
Some people believe that altering your diet,
either by fasting or timing the consumption of carbohydrates and
proteins, can be beneficial, but recent research shows that this
does have a positive effect on jet lag.
Setting your watch to your destination's time,
and sleeping or staying awake according to that time, not your
body clock, is widely endorsed.
Money can be invested or blown on the Jet Lag
Eliminator, two discs that you rotate which tell you what bits
of your body to massage when, while you hurtle towards your
destination.
It is based on Chinese acupuncture and the
body's energy centres, but you might raise eyebrows as you
massage your ears, both inside and out, as the plane begins its
descent.
A large amount of weight lies behind the
theory of dosing yourself with light, either with light machines
or the real thing when you arrive, to help reset the natural
clock quickly, but you must time it right for it to work, making
this a difficult method to practice.
At the end of the traveling day circadian
rhythms are very individual things, so try them all and stick to
what's best for you.
Happy landings!
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