Jetlag can be a serious problem when you're flying to the other side of the world. It usually happens to me when I fly eastward. Typically, I feel fine when I arrive. But a few hours later, just as I'm getting ready to go out on a big adventure, I decide to take a quick nap and wake up 36 hours later! Once, on a trip to Africa, I had it so bad that I thought I was dying. I would have asked my hosts to drive me to the hospital if I could have gotten out of bed.
It's a common misconception that jetlag is caused by a lack of sleep. Jetlag is about your body being disorientation. Day is night, night is day, breakfast is dinner, dinner is breakfast, and strange sights, smells, and noises surround you. The trick is to try to help your body gradually orient itself, or at least not to add to the problem. I don't suffer from bad jetlag anymore. Here are some of the measures I take:
1. I take several capsules of melatonin before I leave and after I arrive. Ask a pharmacist for details.
2. I do not drink alcohol while travelling, even if it's free. With the exception of melatonin and caffiene, I do not take any drugs while travelling. I especially avoid sleeping pills and tranquellizers.
3. I drink more than the average amount of water while travelling. I always have a water bottle with me and I constantly pester the stewardess for refills.
4. I live by my own little schedule while travelling. When it's time to rest, I blindfold myself, plug my ears, and tune out the activity around me. When it's time to be active, I drink coffee, walk around the plane, and engage in mentally stimulating activities like crossword puzzels, computer games, reading, talking, etc.
5. I set my watch to the local time at my destination about an hour after takeoff.
Google "jetlag prevention" to learn about other anti-jetlag remedies. I believe that which remedy is less important that the mere act of following a remedy.
About half way through the second leg of a trip to the other side of the world is when I begin promising myself that I will never do it again. (The promise is forgotten the moment I arrive.) The problem is that my butt hurts. This problem can be serious. A reporter flying to Iraq to cover the war dropped dead soon after he arrived because a blood clot that had developed during his long flight dislodged itself and caused a stroke. Fortunately, airlines have become sensitive to this problem and periodically remind you to do stretching exercises in your seat. For me the real solution is to spend long periods of time hanging out with the stewardesses in the back of the plane.
I always choose aisle seats so I can get up frequently without worrying about bothering people. I always ask for seats in the emergency aisle for the extra legroom. It never hurts to ask to be bumped to business class. This has worked for me a surprising number of times. Bulkhead seats can sometimes be a good idea, but be careful, this is often where they seat people with crying babies.
The air inside of a plane gets pretty funky after eight or nine hours. In Asia I often see fellow passengers wearing surgical masks. I try to boost my defenses by taking Airborne or some other vitamin C supplement.
A common mistake made by people traveling to tropical destinations is not to bring any warm clothes. Spending a long layover in an air-conditioned airport can be miserable. I once spent nine hours in London's Heathrow airport in the middle of December wearing nothing but shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. I was a popsicle!
Thrashing-- this is my term for the flurries of mental errors a person makes because they are nervous. Usually they're nervous about making mental errors. Thrashing is a common occurrence in airports: frantically searching your pockets for a passport, leaving your coat in the terminal as you board the plane, spilling important travel documents on the floor as you hurry toward your flight. Keep it simple in the airport. Check in as much luggage as possible. Have a system for keeping track of important papers.