Travel Ease for Business Class pax?

[kinkacruiser]

Next year will be our first and longest experience flying to London. We are splurging on business class, so we can have a comfortable, restful trip from Brisbane.
I have recently discovered a product called Travel Ease, which has great reviews. You are suppose to take every 2 hours during the flight. My query is do you need this and will it keep you awake?
A few years ago it took us over a week to get over the jet lag from a much shorter SFO-SYD flight, hence my query.
Thanks in advance.
Also do you have any tips to avoid jet lag without the Travel Ease?

 

[Deleted member]

I understand that this stuff requires you refrain from consuming any alcohol on board while flying. ( so maybe this is a better if flying in whY)
I suffer from the effects of travelling back ( to brisbane) and have been known to take a week to properly get over it all.
Some people seem to have no issues at all.

 

[legroom]

Some would claim to have benefitted from Melatonin.

It works for me, at least.

Going straight to have a full day of work off the overnight 14-hr DXB-SYD flight with full concentration.

Previously, I would struggle with that.

A series of one for you !

 

[ashleyn]

Do a search for jet lag on this forum, there's a wealth of information and experiences available.

 

[Hvr]

Given you have a lie flat bed in business class I would have thought you could plan the trip so as to arrive with the requisite amount of sleep to be acclimatised to the local time?

I've done this on my last couple of trips to the US with fairly good success.

 

[Skyring]

Next year will be our first and longest experience flying to London. We are splurging on business class, so we can have a comfortable, restful trip from Brisbane.
I have recently discovered a product called Travel Ease, which has great reviews. You are suppose to take every 2 hours during the flight. My query is do you need this and will it keep you awake?

Staying awake for a long J flight is certainly a great strategy!

You may need some quiet time at the far end, but.

 

[Jack_OC]

I've never taken anything to help avoid jet lag, so can't comment on these products, but in terms of general tips:
- It's not a case of longer flight = worse jet lag. It's actually related to how big the time zone shift is and how quickly that shift occurs. So I would expect jet lag to be much worse after an SFO-SYD flight than after BNE-LHR, as you have a 17-19 hour time zone shift (depending on time of year) in the space of 14 hours, compared to a 9-10 hour time shift in the space of ~24 hours. The reason it's better if the time shift takes place over a longer period is that you have more time to adapt.
- For me, the key is to start adapting to the time zone in your destination the minute you leave home. For example, if you leave AUS late at night bound for London, act as if it's mid afternoon, so try to postpone any sleep for several hours after departure. You can even start this process a day or two before leaving, eg change bed time by an hour or two towards the time zone where you're going. Or take the same approach the ocean liners used - spread the time shift equally over your whole journey. For BNE-LHR, this would mean winding your watch back by about 22mins every hour after departing. Again, this approach is more effective if your travel time is longer rather than shorter.
- When you arrive, do your utmost to stay up until normal bed time in the new time zone. Choosing flight times well can help with this, as it's a lot easier to stay up if you arrive in the afternoon rather than 5am. If you do arrive at 5am, probably best to try and get a couple of hours sleep straight away, rather than trying to stay up and then crashing out early afternoon.
- If you can't stay awake through the afternoon, set an alarm for 2 hours after you lie down, as the worst thing you can do is sleep from mid afternoon to midnight on the day you arrive!
- Finally, the biggest difference IMHO is flying J rather than Y, so you have that one sorted!

 

[simongr]

I tend to suffer worse jet lag on shorter flights/smaller time zone gaps. I find the sleep pattern is disrupted just enough to be pretty annoying. If I have an overnight flight I tend to be ok and able to work until about 4PM - a quick nap then and I am fine for dinner.

 

[JohnCarrWestwood]

Mel _ LHR Mel to LAX :BEST result for me
In the past Ive tried staying awake un aided , tried using no doze during the flight ... BEST result on those long flights.. Sleep as soon and as often as you can and take something , if needed, when you arrive to get you onto local bedtime schedule. depends on what you are doing when you arrive. Sitting in warm rooms is a no no..Long boring meetings a no no. Outside and active absolutely a plus.
Within OZ no problem. OZ to NZ , likewise . I guess its a personal thing

BTW I travel cattle class , always.

 

[lvabarg]

melatonin works for us, BUT, its the one that you get on prescription, as its a measured dose. its always hard to know about over the counter unregulated melatonin. it costs a bit more, but at least we are sure that we are getting what is stated on the packet.

 

[scaredeycat]

Another fan of melatonin. My first experience with it was a trip to Chicago. I sat in a meeting the day after arrival with a group of Aussies and was the only one who managed to stay awake. Note that it is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and that production is regulated by exposure to bright light. You can reset your body's clock by spending as much time as possible outdoors soon after your arrival, especially if it's sunny. Whenever I go to Europe or North America I try to spend the first day outdoors for this very reason.

 

[vertisol]

I've found having a two year old to be the perfect practice for dealing with screwed up sleep patterns.

Being out of whack becomes the norm..

 

[MSmith]

Travelling business class with a little planning should mean that you won't need to take products such as Travel Ease. Work out your time changes and try and eat and sleep taking into account arrival times. Use the business class bed well!! I find watching movies/TV rather than reading is a great way to relax (not sure why), then sleep well and arrive fresh and not jet lagged. I also avoid tea and coffee but enjoy a glass of wine or two and drink a reasonable amount of water. I haven't suffered jet lag for years and I travel quite a lot - always business class on long hauls. It also helps to keep going the day you arrive with an early night. Hopefully your stopover on the way will allow you enough time to shower and refresh (take fresh underwear etc in your hand luggage) - this also helps significantly with how you feel during the trip and on arrival. Hope you have a great trip!!

 

[QF029]

I would expect jet lag to be much worse after an SFO-SYD flight than after BNE-LHR, as you have a 17-19 hour time zone shift (depending on time of year) in the space of 14 hours

Time zone shifts can effectively be never more than 12 hours in either direction. Going to the US you're going forward 6-10 hours. The date is irrelevant for jet lag purposes.

 

[Maca44]

This might sound weird but when I fly to the USA I go to bed early the previous night, set the alarm for about 3am on the day of departure and stay awake doing anything, even going for a walk at that time. I find that by a third of the trip to the US I am so tired I sleep for 7+ hours and experience less jet lag. I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to fly J, but best advise is to force yourself to stay awake until early evening on the day of your arrival, irrespective of what country or what class of travel.

 

[RAM]

Given you have a lie flat bed in business class I would have thought you could plan the trip so as to arrive with the requisite amount of sleep to be acclimatised to the local time?

I've done this on my last couple of trips to the US with fairly good success.

Best combination - start to operate on Brisbane time (just don't lose track of local time for check-in etc on return leg) the day of return flight. As in Europe then treat dinner as breakfast etc, continue this while at airport -restrain urge to change meal/eating to local time (breakfast vs dinner) and aim to sleep according to Brisbane schedule during flight. With lie flat bed getting 4-6 hours should be doable even for a poor sleeper. In Y that can be a real challenge.

When I've done this for the 36-48 period from last day in E to end of day back in OZ I am normally right by after first night's sleep. That also included alcohol intake (sorry but must sacrifice something for body clock) so no drinks until after lunchtime Bris.

Avoid over-indulging in movies when you should be asleep.

 

[Jack_OC]

Time zone shifts can effectively be never more than 12 hours in either direction. Going to the US you're going forward 6-10 hours. The date is irrelevant for jet lag purposes.

Yes you're correct actually. I have generally found MEL to west coast US worse than to EU, but it's probably mainly because of the short space of time over which the timezone shift happens. Also the timing of flights is not ideal - generally leaving early morning MEL time so you don't really feel like sleeping on the plane, but then it's already morning when you arrive, even though it's bed time at home. I find east coast US to EU similarly problematic.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

there are all sorts of theories on jet lag and how to combat it.

i read once that jet lag is never as bad going west bound as east bound. and never as bad if you are going TO your holiday as opposed to coming home (something about the excitement helping to keep you awake when you arrive n holiday).

those two things have always pretty much been my story... flying to London form Australia I never had a problem. coming hme and I'd be awake at 1am and back in bed soundly asleep by midday

melatonin doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. again I read somewhere that all you need to do is go to sleep, leave the curtains open, and you'll wake when the sun comes up and be on local time. and it's worked that way for me.

so I guess some of the anti jet lag maneuvers for me are down psychosomatics... i believe what I read!

as for managing time zones, some will set their watch to the new time zone days in advance, some will try and stay awake. I just sleep whenever I feel like it and don't worry too much. it seems to work for me.

i agree however with the earlier comments that short time difference can be just as bad if not worse than longer ones... I arrived in bangkok a couple weeks ago... three hours behind Australia... and I was sound asleep by 8pm and awake by 4! not so great with evening engagements!