Korean Job Discussion Forums

weened · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 8:21 pm Post subject: How do you treat jet lag?

I'll be on the P soon enough and have begun my anti-jet lag regimen. Before I leave I try to adjust my sleeping schedule as close to Korean time as possible. After I arrive I take some meds (xanax) for a day or two and then suffer. I hate the lag. Have you discovered any natural remedies that are effective?

W

Guest · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:02 pm Post subject:

Taking benzodiazepines, including Alprazolam (Xanax) is inapporpriate as a means to treat jetlag. You can do so of course, but you should not do so. You should be rested, WELL, WELL hydrated, nap on the plane and then go into a normal routine when you arrive. You should not drink alcohol, not smoke, and there is good anectodal evidence that taking melatonin can help to alleviate some symptoms of jetlag; requiring you take 300 mcg - 1 mcg per day for 7 days prior to the flight and for 7 days after arrival.

Most people tolerate jetlag just fine if following the basics and there is no logical reason to take addictive drugs for the purpose of just not being "tired for a few days." Most doctors will tell you that and as such one is doing so now.

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

I dont understand jetlag, maybe some folks are more sensitive than others. I've done countless transoceanic flights & have yet to feel it. Maybe I sleep a bit on the flight, maybe I dont, then when I land I just tell myself okay, its whatever time it is here locally. Carry on till everyone else is going to bed & do the same. When you wake up youre in synch.

But I quite like messing around with daily schedules & I enjoy that spaced-out feeling skipping a night's sleep after an all-night party. Maybe I'm weird.

Guest · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:41 pm Post subject:

I'm personally more affected by the pathetic Daylight Savings Time than I am by jetlag. As with any condition it's always variable by patient. There is no cure-all end-all for all patients. When I first arrived in Korea after my 22 hours of flights and lay overs I took a shower, ate lunch, and went for a 6 mile run. That's me .... everyone is different.

Tony Danza's Houseguest · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Location: Osan Dong

I found that only sleeping two or three hours the night before my flight made it so I felt no effects whatsoever. My sleeping schedule was completely normal the day after I got back. I slept on the plane for a couple of hours, and ended up with something like 8 hours of sleep in 48, but it made me exhausted enough so that I had to sleep through the night when I got back to Korea and I felt refreshed the next morning. But, as other people have said, it may just be variable on a person to person basis. I say, however: abuse, abuse, abuse your sleep schedule and it'll work out better.

itaewonguy · Joined: 25 Mar 2003

thing what you need to do is not stress it!!
I mean it all comes down to when your flight arrives..
if you arrive at midnight and get to hotel at 1am then hit the bar. and get wasted. return to the bed and sleep and wake at 10-11 am.. you're set!!
get outside. move around shopping. get back to the hotel at night you are tired you sleep. next day wake up alittle earlier.
I have never had any problems with jet lag. It not big deal!
there is day and there is night!!

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

Theres a concrete sofa & upright mattress sculpture installation in downtown Victoria BC (where I'm headed next monday) consistently voted #1 eyesore in the city. I quite like it. Maybe the title on the steel flag speaks to the jetlag issue.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

I find the best way to get over jet lag is just to go to sleep when I arrive.

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

Never had it... 15 hour non-stop flight from DC to Inchon, didn't sleep... got here, talked with my boss a bit, then slept normal hours that night and had no problem working the next day.

Incidentally, I don't get hangovers either... must be related.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

yeah but your just a young 'un rylees.

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

A youngin' that feels old half the time...

Bad knees, bad back, bad hip, and a bad brain to boot.

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

Guest · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:04 am Post subject:

weened · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 11:59 am Post subject:

I should have guessed that we all vary in degrees of fatigue. Personally, I'm hit hard by jet-lag. I have found that my body will simply shut down at my "normal" bed-time and I must really struggle to function. This occurs for a week. My stepmother, who is all over the globe, all year, never suffers. I think the hydration factor is important, and a step that I've ignored in the past. In fact, the free beer on the flight must be my undoing. As for avoiding Xanax, if you are concerned about the half-life of the medicine, I take .25mg, twice; hardly a concern for addiction. Otoh, if you are referring to another danger, let me know. Also, I've heard that Melatonin, when consumed, can cause liver damage. (This is the part where you all refrain from pointing out the hypocrisy of alcohol, et al.) Essentially, I think jet-lag is one of the occupational hazards of traveling that we secretly enjoy-it is a physical acknowledgement of our transition from There to Here. With that, I'm philosophically out.

desultude · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject: