Long Haul jet lag - how bad will this be ?

fifeken

Agree with those that say it's an individual thing and there's no one solution fits all. I'm in the camp that says sleep when you're tired, don't when you're not. If that means adjusting some activities to "unusual" times of the day then so be it.

Murphy_The_Cat

Free Changi Airport transit voucher


Sadly it isn't valid for my dates, but may be of use to someone else.

richardw

Book into a transit hotel at Singapore airport and get some sleep, no point forcing yourself to stay awake.

zagfles

richardw wrote: »

Book into a transit hotel at Singapore airport and get some sleep, no point forcing yourself to stay awake.

Yes, and compared to the cost of flying BC and going via Sweden the price will be trivial. Probably about the same price as a round of drinks in the hotel bar in Stockholm

It'd probably be better to see Singapore on the way back, if the flights can be tweaked a bit to give a bit more time? We did that after an overnighter from AKL, which was pretty good as it was about an 11 hour flight leaving about 2300 AKL arriving about 0600 SIN with clocks back 4 hours, so you get a long night when you'll actually be ready for a kip.

We were in economy but it would be making good use of BC to try to get a good kip on the plane, see Singapore in the day, then another long overnighter home.

Doshwaster

fifeken wrote: »

Agree with those that say it's an individual thing and there's no one solution fits all. I'm in the camp that says sleep when you're tired, don't when you're not. If that means adjusting some activities to "unusual" times of the day then so be it.

It also depends on where you are going at what you have to do at your destination. If you are on holiday and flying to a 24 hour city (e.g. Vegas, Bangkok) then I wouldn't worry about jet lag at all - just eat and sleep when you feel like it. However, it is a bit different if you have to fly straight into an important business meeting.

Ballard

As many have said, there's no point in asking the question as everyone suffers jetlag differently. When I flew to Auckland I had 36 hours in Singapore to ease the jet lag. This didn't work. Singapore was lovely but I simply couldn't sleep. When I arrived in Auckland (via Sydney) I was exhausted for two days.

A month later I flew from Auckland to Sydney to meet a friend who flew direct from London and arrived on my first morning there. He had barely a hint of jetlag. He was tired but went to bed around 11pm and woke up right as rain the next day. I've never known him to suffer from it. Incredibly irritating!

zagfles

Ballard wrote: »

As many have said, there's no point in asking the question as everyone suffers jetlag differently. When I flew to Auckland I had 36 hours in Singapore to ease the jet lag. This didn't work. Singapore was lovely but I simply couldn't sleep. When I arrived in Auckland (via Sydney) I was exhausted for two days.

A month later I flew from Auckland to Sydney to meet a friend who flew direct from London and arrived on my first morning there. He had barely a hint of jetlag. He was tired but went to bed around 11pm and woke up right as rain the next day. I've never known him to suffer from it. Incredibly irritating!

Everyone might be different but it seems to be a common theme that people suffer less travelling west, where days are extended and you go to bed later, rather than travelling east where you have to try to sleep earlier than usual. Most people find it easier to stay up a few hours past their normal bedtime, rather than going to bed and trying to sleep a few hours before their normal bedtime.

We've been to the US loads of times, and never suffered from jetlag going there, but always suffering coming back! Similarly, like you we stopped in SE Asia on the way to Australia and suffered on the way out.

So if going east, I'd try to simulate going west by having extended days and going to bed later than usual, eg by using the transit hotel for a daytime kip.

I was worried about jetlag going to NZ and it did work really well for all 4 of us who have very different sleep habits! We were over the jetlag by the second day in NZ.

In UK time, it was like going to bed at 3am UK time first night at the transit hotel (10am SIN, slept in the local day), then first night in NZ going to bed 7am UK time (6pm NZ) then next night maybe 9am (8pm) then normal bedtime. So basically 3 extended days where you're up 3-4 hours or so later than usual, gradually easing into the new timezone.

Same coming back, with 2 overnight flights and a stop in Singapore on the way but this time you're actually flying west which makes things easier. Long overnight flights where the night is extended by the timezone change so you have an extended night, so even if you sleep intermittantly on the flight you'd likely get enough sleep.

Ballard

I tend to suffer slightly less going east but there’s not a great deal in it. It just takes my body a while to comprehend that it’s not 4pm when I’m in bed at 11pm local time. My usual travelling buddy doesn’t understand this at all so he wakes up after 8 hours unbroken sleep whereas I’m exhausted after 3 hours light sleep.

I’ve travelled business for my last couple of long haul flights which is great but makes no difference jet lag wise.

Not that I’m complaining. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to visit far flung places. My next trip will see me land in Bogot! at around 7:30pm. The chances of me sleeping before about 1am are minimal.

richardw

Btw Newer planes such as A350, A380 and B787 have lower pressure air and of a better quality, so picking these will make you feel less tired.

TheShape

richardw wrote: »

Btw Newer planes such as A350, A380 and B787 have lower pressure air and of a better quality, so picking these will make you feel less tired.

Don't you mean a higher cabin pressure and a lower cabin altitude?