Okay, say I’m going to Germany. They are six hours ahead of us, so to avoid jet-lag, about 2-3 weeks prior to departure I start setting my watch ahead one hour like every 3-4 days, and start living my life being that much “ahead” in time till I get to “Germany Time”, meaning that when I land in Frankfurt, I will be in their time-zone literally and biologically.
Of course, I’ll crash when I get back to Atlanta, because I only ever stay a week, and that’s not time enough to reverse my “theoretical time travel”.
I have read of this being done, but since I hold y’all in such high esteem, I think the final word should come from you.
Whatcha think?
Years ago I talked with a National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health scientist in Cincinnati. He maintained that “jet lag” is really just hypoxia from spending hours in a diminished oxygen environment.
When you’re flying in a commercial aircraft the cabin is pressurized to about 8,500’. A high percentage of the population is mildly hypoxic at that altitude. The reactions are similar to those of a flatlander who visits Denver (altitude 5,200 feet) – fatigue.
The solution: have someone get you a hit of O2 from a bottle of sports oxygen at the other end.
I remember a tip when I went to Greece a few years ago: when you get on board the plane, set your watch for the destination’s time zone. That way, if you look at your watch, you’ll keep thinking it’s actually that time so when you land you’ll be ready (although a bit tired as well possibly).
I’ve had a number of people recommend melatonin as a way to reset your body clock, but have never tried it myself. The idea is to take the recommended dosage on the plane, at whatever your bedtime would be in the destination time zone.
I find melatonin works pretty well for me as an occasional sleep aid, but have never tried it for jet lag. If you try it, let us know how it works.
So it’s not a matter of time at all, but O2 deprivation (hypoxia).
That means my theory’s full of shit, and that’s also the reason melatonin doesn’t work, right? I mean, all that stuff does is put you to sleep, so you may be well-rested at the end of your trip, but you still would have breathed in O2 at 8500 feet, which doesn’t help the jet-lag at all.
Man! I want the O2 concession at Frankfurt Airport!
One other thing: And you more knowledgable dopers please correct me, okay?
Isn’t it also true that the amount of oxygen pumped through the plane on a transatlantic flight is woefully inadequate? Wasn’t there a controversy a couple of years ago about pilots actually getting bonuses by conserving fuel that way?
I don’t mean to step on any toes, but I would really like to know if this has been corrected, and for the record, I have the utmost respect for any man or woman who can fly me and hundreds of others in a metal tube across the ocean and set me down safely on the other side.
psst, Quasimodem, probably not a good idea in this day and age of foolish paranoia to talk about hijacks and trans-atlantic flights in the same thread…
I once met an old friend on a plane heading to Chicago. He was a few rows down from me, but we recognized each other, and I yelled out “Hey Jack!” without thinking what it might have sounded like. Luckily this was back in the 80’s and I didn’t have to dig myself out of a pile-on!
Well, I’d take Mooney252’s friend’s theory with a grain of salt.
The diminished oxygen ~may~ make the jet lag effects more pronounced, but I can tell you from personal experience that it takes more than just being in a plane for an extended period and that the change in time zones DO in fact play a role. Flying North/South (Chicago to Lima, Peru) results in no jet lag, yet flying E/W (Chicago to Frankfurt) does.
And even if its theoretically possible, it’s certainly not practical. Are you really wanting to get up at 2 in the morning and go to sleep at 5 in the afternoon just to counteract symptoms that are usually only mildly annoying for a couple of days?
I just got back from England and I had problems with jet lag when I got there. It took me a couple of days to get over it, but I didn’t have any on the return flight. I arrived in Dallas at 7:30 p.m. (1:30 a.m. English time). Even though I was tired, I forced myself to stay up until nearly midnight. I slept 8-9 hours and woke up and didn’t seem to have any jet lag.
