Jetlag

There’s one thing that I’ve never gotten used to in all the years I’ve worked as a stewardess ? Jetlag. Thousands of articles and books have been written on this subject and I’ve read quite a few of them. But all this paper wisdom only taught me one thing: how to live with it. It never solved the problem. As far as I know now, jetlag is unavoidable. You can’t walk away from it and no amount of experience will help you any further.

When I had my first severe jetlag, I remembered some simple advice I’d read about: catch the daylight and do some exercise. So I jogged to the fitness centre and worked out in a two-hour aerobics class. For as long as it lasted. Halfway through, the world suddenly turned black. When I woke up, I found myself stretched out on the floor with the worried face of the instructor right above me. Hadn’t I eaten breakfast? Was I pregnant? Did I have some sort of disease? When I told him I’d just returned from a long-distance flight and I’d skipped a night, he told me I’d misunderstood the advice. The advice was to take some light exercise, like a stroll in the park. And then he sent me home. I tried a few other tricks but in the end I learned that there is really only one way to deal with jetlag: just accept it!

For a start, that means having to accept my indecisiveness. When I arrive home after a flight, I sometimes can’t even make up my mind about the simplest matters. Like what to eat that night. One moment I feel like pumpkin soup, the next moment I’m dying for a pizza. So I buy both but might end up eating a left-over cheese sandwich or a packet of biscuits. That’s why I promised myself never ever to make any major decisions on the day I return. Neither would I ever plan any complicated activities.

Another symptom of my jetlag is the sudden loss of part of my vocabulary. Simple words temporarily escape me, so I have to resort to describing things like ‘glue’ or ‘contact lens’ in detail. As this is very tiring (for me and the listener) I usually become more and more silent during the day.

I’ve always wondered how they survive, those passengers who leave our plane and walk right into a meeting. Their body and mind must be crying out for some rest and peace, but duty calls. Will they end up regretting their decisions the next day?

Caroline


What to eat?

Posted by:   Caroline  | 
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Alexander

Once I received the following advice: if you come to your detination before noon, go to bed for one hour sharp. If you come after noon, then simply keep walking, going, being active until the normal bed time. So far, it works, but I have to keep the light in the bedroom and TV switched on for this one hour sleep. Otherwise, I am not able to wake up.

Alexander

Once I received the following advice: if you come to your detination before noon, go to bed for one hour sharp. If you come after noon, then simply keep walking, going, being active until the normal bed time. So far, it works, but I have to keep the light in the bedroom and TV switched on for this one hour sleep. Otherwise, I am not able to wake up.

Radu

Well, we have the added, unfair advantage of sleeping while you, unfortunately have to work. I’ve done yyz-ams-otp quite a few times and each time I was fine (leave in the evening, arrive around noon, mid-afternoon) and functioning. The problems started at night when I couldn’t sleep since I was still on the yyz time zone. :)

Radu

Well, we have the added, unfair advantage of sleeping while you, unfortunately have to work. I’ve done yyz-ams-otp quite a few times and each time I was fine (leave in the evening, arrive around noon, mid-afternoon) and functioning. The problems started at night when I couldn’t sleep since I was still on the yyz time zone. :)

Paul

I fully agree on never getting used to jetlag. I travel from Europe to Asia and to Americas, and it is a different story every trip. The only thing that helps me is being dead tired wheb getting on the plane and sleep some on the plane, but that won’t work for the crew of course.

Paul

I fully agree on never getting used to jetlag. I travel from Europe to Asia and to Americas, and it is a different story every trip. The only thing that helps me is being dead tired wheb getting on the plane and sleep some on the plane, but that won’t work for the crew of course.

Jan-Dirk

I never sleep in a plane, but know now how to deal with it:
– General rule divide the time difference by two and adjust your wake-up time accordingly
– So when going to NY, wake up at 4 am, every morning, bed time is not important
– When you go to SG or HK, wake up at 10 am and go to bed late – 2 am
– If you come home with an early flight; take a hot shower and one hour sleep; you feel terrible when you are awake, since you blood sugar is very low, so go outside and buy fresh fruit
Works for me :)

Blog

That means getting up at 2am, not very productive I think as my work day starts at 8 and that means 4 hours of sleep per night roughtly!?

Jan-Dirk

I never sleep in a plane, but know now how to deal with it:
– General rule divide the time difference by two and adjust your wake-up time accordingly
– So when going to NY, wake up at 4 am, every morning, bed time is not important
– When you go to SG or HK, wake up at 10 am and go to bed late – 2 am
– If you come home with an early flight; take a hot shower and one hour sleep; you feel terrible when you are awake, since you blood sugar is very low, so go outside and buy fresh fruit
Works for me :)

Blog

That means getting up at 2am, not very productive I think as my work day starts at 8 and that means 4 hours of sleep per night roughtly!?

Michael Carmichael

 Sleeping as much as you can on a plane, plenty of water are key to preventing jet lag. I would also recommend Protex H. It helps to prepare the body before the flight unlike others  jet lag cures that are taken during or even after. 

Protex H helps to increase Heat Shock Proteins that we already have in our bodies to help recover from the stress caused by long haul flights.

Check out Protex H website if you want to find out more :)

Michael Carmichael

 Sleeping as much as you can on a plane, plenty of water are key to preventing jet lag. I would also recommend Protex H. It helps to prepare the body before the flight unlike others  jet lag cures that are taken during or even after. 

Protex H helps to increase Heat Shock Proteins that we already have in our bodies to help recover from the stress caused by long haul flights.

Check out Protex H website if you want to find out more :)

Madmadtrainer

Great comment ! i must be one of KLm;s most frequent flyers and its good to see its not just me that suffers all the things you say you do! I am not alone :-)

I also just accept it, its the only thing to do and never make decisions on the day after a flight, great tip!

Madmadtrainer

Great comment ! i must be one of KLm;s most frequent flyers and its good to see its not just me that suffers all the things you say you do! I am not alone :-)

I also just accept it, its the only thing to do and never make decisions on the day after a flight, great tip!

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