Are jet lag pills effective?

[hwy]

love them! just dont pop one or two whilst taxi-ing on the runway as I was on a flight that aborted the takeoff and i was a mess. luckily, the pilot just gave it another go and was successful in taking off. when i woke up 4.5 hours later my wife chastised me for being a lump of coal so early in the flight. And yeah- it was in J class.

 

[Blinky]

Homeopathetic pills don’t work. For anything.

Melotonin, though, can but not always.

 

[JanP]

Coming home (just did it last weekend) can be a double whammy. Eastbound flights, but also relatively short hops that make it difficult to get a decent sleep. Not sure 29 hrs stopover in CGK was a good or bad idea - as far as jet lag goes.

My stopover is 12 hrs ( arriving 8am and departing 8:45pm) but as others, including you, pointed out it might be a more difficult one.

 

[VPS]

I’m a Stilnox fan. But I only take in J when I can get proper sleep.

Definitely requires a ground trial to make sure it doesn’t make you paint your doors or eat the contents of your fridge while sleeping. I’ve never had any effects and I started taking it 15 years ago for shift work. Only use it for red eye flights now.

I had very bad reactions to Stilnox

 

[SYD]

My stopover is 12 hrs ( arriving 8am and departing 8:45pm) but as others, including you, pointed out it might be a more difficult one.

Yep, that’ll be “fun” (not).

Travelling on seperate bookings? You might not be able to check through luggage . Although QR generally will. But at least QF42 “early checkin” opened at 4:30pm last weekend (rather than the typical 3 hrs prior used by most airlines out of CGK). The 6 hr flying time on the red eye CGK-SYD doesn’t help if up front - too short! But mercifully short if down the back.

Some stopover discussion here…not a lot really. You might want to explore a hotel “day room” to rest.

Jakarta stopover ideas?

This thread is closed, so starting a new one: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/threads/jakarta-stopover.94390/ We’re on our second SYD-CGK // cheap J fare to Europe trip and have a longish layover at Jakarta coming up before QF42 (checkin won’t open until about 17:45). Last...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[RooFlyer]

I’m a Stilnox fan. But I only take in J when I can get proper sleep.

Definitely requires a ground trial to make sure it doesn’t make you paint your doors or eat the contents of your fridge while sleeping. I’ve never had any effects and I started taking it 15 years ago for shift work. Only use it for red eye flights now.

My GP has refused point blank to prescribe me Stilnox, or similar . I'd only take it on long haul recovery, not in the air. Might have to ask again.

 

[justinbrett]

My GP has refused point blank to prescribe me Stilnox, or similar . I'd only take it on long haul recovery, not in the air. Might have to ask again.

Yeah, it’s easier to be grandfathered in - the RAAF gave them to me before all the crazy stories came out with people doing weird things, then it was much more controlled and definitely less preferred to Temaz (which didn’t really work for me).

But now whenever I need it I just state how long I’ve been taking it and then they don’t have a problem. I did once have a Navy doctor refuse to give it to me but then I just went to a RAAF doctor instead. They are very commonly used by aircrew (not while flying obviously!). Haven’t had any issues getting them from civilian doctors since I’ve been out (again, quoted past history).

They’re not sedatives and if I had to be woken up I’m confident I could evacuate the aircraft. I did try taking them in Y once or twice and I still couldn’t sleep more than an hour at a time. I was just a lot more tired.

 

[JanP]

Travelling on seperate bookings?

Yes, for Qatar and Qantas:

VIE-DOH and DOH-CGK in J, and CGK-SYD in Y.

Thanks for the link; I read it earlier today. I will most likely book a day room. On the way to the EU, I’m staying at Anara and need to check if they offer day rooms.

 

[RooFlyer]

then it was much more controlled and definitely less preferred to Temaz (which didn’t really work for me).

Temaz is prescribed for me but I really avoid taking it except when I'm absolutely zonked and need to catch up. Then, it usually works well and no after effects.

They’re not sedatives and if I had to be woken up I’m confident I could evacuate the aircraft. I did try taking them in Y once or twice and I still couldn’t sleep more than an hour at a time. I was just a lot more tired.

Yes, that's why I'd not take them in flight - I've never been able to sleep well on planes (or cars, or sitting up in a living room...).

Friends used to enjoy taking 'hippies' for long haul - rohyipnol. I think its banned here, now?

Going to ask about stilnox again - I can't see that I have any counter-indications.

 

[BenP]

Big Melatonin fan.
If you are going to Europe with a SIN stopover it’s available over the counter in pharmacies there.
Funnily enough manufactured in Australia
View attachment 407417

Random question but have you had any trouble bring them back into Australia?

 

[Forg]

I wonder if you have to believe harder in the melatonin pills than I do, before they work?
Like how I suspect too much that the non-drowsy antihistamines are just placebos, so I just keep histamining unless I take a drowsy-making one …
Although admittedly only tried the melatonin pill thingy once.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Random question but have you had any trouble bring them back into Australia?

None whatsoever

 

[Seat0B]

If you are going to Europe with a SIN stopover it’s available over the counter in pharmacies there.

Ooooh I did not know that. We will be coming home from visit to Seat Son via SIN in early January so I will most definitely stock up. I notice they have 10mg!!! I reckon I would sleep like the dead on that .

 

[Seat0B]

Random question but have you had any trouble bring them back into Australia?

And I have never had any trouble bringing melatonin in to Australia from the USA either.

 

[Lynda2475]

Maybe it is because I am naturally a night owl but I find that the key is staying awake once you arrive until at least 10pm (although I'd not typically go to bed so early) so that you are sleeping on destination schedule from the get go. Zero effects then ime.

If a daytime departure which arrives in the arvo or night time do not sleep on the plane at all. If over night flight only sleep on plane if it arrives at destination in the morning.

Do not nap, naps screw up your sleep cycle.

I cant say Ive ever really been jet-lagged and notice zero difference flying east or west.

 

[Forg]

I wonder how much people incorrectly blame jet lag for the strong negative effects of sleep deprivation? I mean, I know there are people who at least claim to be able to sleep on a ‘plane … everyone else I observed in the J cabin on our most recent OS trip was doing a pretty good impersonation of someone sleeping …

… but after 40-ish hours with at best maybe a half-dozen 30-minute dozes, I’ve never had a problem crashing-out at the destination; still feeling pretty buggered the next day though, and never known whether to blame “jet lag” or “40hrs without sleep”.

 

[VPS]

I can take a whole temazapam and still be wide awake an hour later. They just don't work for me

 

[Princess Fiona]

I think for me the best way to avoid jet lag is to arrive onboard a bit tired. Easy as I’m normally wide awake all night before a long haul in case I sleep in.
I set my watch immediately to the destination time zone. Pop a 10mg Melatonin 1 hour before bedtime arrival zone.
Drink lots of water and above all else fly Westbound.
It’s so much kinder on the body clock than flying Eastbound.
Turns all your trips into a DONEx but anything to avoid the jet lag

 

[RSD]

I will have to search for melatonin when I'm next in China - not passing through Singapore unfortunately

 

[justinbrett]

My single best strategy is to change my watch / phone time to my destination time as soon as I board. Then I adjust to that time as quickly as possible.

Flying west is a lot easier.