Well, I am back in the UK after a very busy – but also very enjoyable – trip to the US, visiting both New York and San Francisco. One of the problems in flying eastwards from somewhere such as San Francisco, as I and my wife did yesterday, is the jetlag. People have their own solutions or countermeasures, such as making sure you drink plenty of water to combat in-flight dehydration, and so on. I rarely sleep much on aircraft unless I have the luxury of a very roomy seat and can recline it. Being the cheapskate I am, I flew economy, and kept partly awake for most of the 10-hour flight. (I flew Virgin Atlantic, which I think is pretty good).
So what to do? Well, a number of friends of mine in the US recommend Melatonin. You can buy this easily enough in any decent US drugstore. In the UK, so I am told, you have to get it via prescription. But there appear to be websites where you can buy it, so I am not sure what the legal issues are, if any. I took a tablet last night, slept the sleep of the righteous, and now feel fine. It does not necessarily work for everyone, but it works like a charm for me. I am told that you should avoid caffeine and booze for a while before taking the pill and hitting the bed.
I first read about this substance via the Extropian crowd of friends – a group of futurists and transhumanists – back in the early 1990s. Melatonin is a substance that is produced by the body, but it reduces with old age, and some have argued that taken in the right quantities and used sensibly, that it has beneficial health effects. Here is a Wikipedia item on Melatonin. I know people who have suffered from insomnia, and it is no joke. So something that might handle that issue can make a big difference to quality of life.
There are two very simple rules when flying which will prevent, say, 90% of the misery of jetlag, even – or particularly, perhaps – when flying economy.
Rule 1. Eat nothing. Drink only water. The reason is very simple: the low pressure knocks out your tastebuds, and to compensate airline meals are loppered with flavour enhancers – MSG, salt etc etc. These will make you feel unwell, particularly if you don’t eat much of this stuff at home. Drinking only water is just common sense. These two together will practically eliminate the bloating, slight nausea and general seediness associated with jetlag.
Rule 2. Don’t watch the movies. Do you spend your time at home watching violent rubbish into the small hours? If you do, how do you feel the next morning? No, keep the small screen switched off, and read a book/Kindle, or just as good, listen to your favourite podcast or audiobook.
Actually, there is a Rule 3. Buy a facemask and earplugs.
And that’s it. Last month I journeyed from Beijing to Jackson Hole, which door to door took 26 hours. Yes, in economy. I did a full day’s work the next day, and felt fine. And I’m normally incredibly unfit.
I have used Melatonin to combat the effects of jetlag for a number of years. Also a lot of aircrew that I know swear by it.
If going on a short trip, take two tablets for 3-days after returning. On trips longer than a few days, take 2-tablets each night at normal bedtime.
DO NOT sleep before normal bedtime, especially if travelling more than 6-timezones (e.g. Europe->West Coast or Europe->China).
I have found melatonin valuable, but there are a couple of caveats.
Ensure you take synthesised melatonin, not “natural” animal sourced material, which may potentially carry Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Also, small doses (less that 1.5mg) appear to be more effective than larger doses.
Regards Ian Macmillan
I agree, small doses. I never take more than half a pill as it leaves me feeling groggy the next day.
Slightly O/T
“In the UK, so I am told, you have to get it via prescription.”
I am unsure about the legal aspects of melatonin but imagine as with most supplements it is being regulated out of existence by EU/UN regulation. So you wont be allowed to choose what you put in your own body.. but that is a whole different subject.
Hovis, it may be O/T but its certainly to the point. The state expands, the freedom atrophies.
Yes, we have been unable to buy it in NZ since 1993. It’s produced by the pineal gland which atrophies/calcifies with age. Remember those teenage lie-ins until midday ?
And there was me thinking needing less sleep,was an ADVANTAGE of increasing years. Now my bubble is burst, and I know it’s just another body part breaking down…
wh00ps: it’s not needing less sleep, it’s being unable to sleep as much as needed – totally different things.
The small-ish dose aspect (I agree with less than 1.5 mg ) is very important. It seems to me that even slightly too much (YMMV) has a tendency to build up when taken over a longer period.
I’ve both read about and experienced that too much melatonin gives more vivid dreams – not necessarily bad – but also more vivid nightmares. Nightmares do happen sometimes, but melatonin nightmares are “you’ll have to get up” vivid. Scary. Terrifying.
I took it (1.5 mg) when I visited Europe and returned to the States. I slept well. I continued long after the jet lag was past right up until I went through one of those vivid nightmares and then I stopped and haven’t used it since. I haven’t had the vivid nightmares or dreams since I stopped.
Just thought I would connect the dots between Ian McMillan’s comment about ensuring you get synthesised melatonin and not animal sourced melatonin, with Ayrdale’s comment on the pineal gland.
The natural stuff is taken from the pineal glands of bulls. Creutzfeld Jacob Disease is the human form of mad cow disease.
I’ve never found melatonin to be anything other than a placebo. The main thing is keep hydrated and go to bed the other side when you are tired, not when it’s dark. Z-drugs like Ambien or zopiclone work very well for me. Another method is, once you arrive, get hammered enough to pass out. Sure, you’ll have a vile hangover the next day, but if you’d got hammered enough to pass out while still at home you’d also have a hangover, so where’s the harm?
Sorry for being ignorant, but what does hydration have to do with this, other than being an essential in and of itself?