Are you flying to Thailand, then you may have to deal with jet lag. Jet lag occurs because you fly through different time zones.
Why do you get jet lag?
Our bodies are programmed for a 24 hour period. The focus is on the rhythm of eating and sleeping. This biorhythm gets disturbed when we make long flights at high speed. The change in time zones can mean that our bodies become disorganized. This can lead to extreme tiredness, loss of appetite, reduced memory and concentration or a general feeling of discomfort.
Is one direction of travel worse than the other?
Usually, travelers find that flying to the East, such as Thailand, causes the most jet lag. This is because travelers try to go to sleep when their bodies should be awake. Upon arrival in Bangkok, you wake up feeling like you have awakened in the middle of the night. Studies show that it takes a day to recover from each time zone you fly through.
Before you travel
Travelers with a fixed schedule of eating and sleeping suffer the most from jet lag. So if you are already more flexible, then you have a natural advantage. A few tips:
- Make sure you start your trip fully rested and get a good night's sleep before you leave.
- Try to adjust your sleeping pattern somewhat to your destination.
- Plan your flights to arrive during the day so you can stay awake earlier and fit right into your new rhythm.
- You could plan a stopover in your trip; this means that your body has more time to get used to the new rhythm.
During the flight
To reduce the risk of jet lag, you can observe the following tips during your flight to Thailand:
- It is better to avoid alcohol during your flight. It causes dehydration.
- Also avoid caffeinated drinks (coffee, cola, etc.) if you gain weight at night as this can seriously disrupt your sleeping pattern. Drink plenty of water on board an airplane.
- Do not take a sleeping pill on your flights to Bangkok as this can make jet lag worse. A nap during the trip can't hurt.
- Set your watch to the time of the destination – mentally, this will put you in the right mindset.
- Regularly stretch your legs and do some exercises to stimulate your blood circulation, which will make you feel better.
When you arrive in Bangkok
- Start eating three meals a day at times appropriate to the new time zone.
- Make sure you get as much daylight as possible; the day/night rhythm is important for restoring the biorhythm.
- Do something physical and do some exercises to get your body going.
- Try to get the same amount of sleep you normally get in 24 hours, make up for a small setback during the day with a short power nap of max. 30 minutes.
- Sometimes melatonin tablets help with jet lag. These are available in low doses at the drugstore.
DESCRIPTION
There are a number of things you can do to reduce the symptoms of jet lag:
- Adjust your sleep schedule to your destination before you leave. This can help make it easier to adjust to the new time zone.
- Make sure you get enough sleep while flying and try to synchronize the sleep on the plane with the time at your destination.
- Look for the sun at your destination. Light can help synchronize your biological clock with the new time zone.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol right before bed. Both can make it harder to fall asleep.
- Try to relax and develop a healthy sleep routine at your destination. This can help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.
- Consider using melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone you produce naturally that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Some people find taking a melatonin supplement helps to reduce the symptoms of jet lag.
Great tips. My personal experience with intercontinental flights from NL with destinations in both western and eastern directions is that I hardly suffer from jet lag on the outward journey, but that after the return journey I need about three days to get back into the old rhythm . I don't know if more people experience it that way, I think it's also psychological: the adrenaline of arriving somewhere 'foreign', looking forward to the new experiences, etc. seem to suppress the physical consequences. That oppression is no longer there when you have come back and then my body is in most respects quite upset for a few days.
I wonder how flight crews deal with this - maybe Sjaak, as a former Lufthansa employee, would like to share his experiences in that field?
When I arrive in Thailand I adapt to the time that is available at that moment. So if I arrive in the afternoon I stay awake until it's time to sleep. I'm not bothered by anything. I have more trouble when I've been on night shift, then I feel broken.
I myself have been doing shift work for years, and actually without any problems. However, a little jet lag after arriving in Bangkok is the well-known start of our holiday for my wife and myself.
We always stay awake after arrival, to go to bed exhausted around 23:00 PM, and then stare wide awake at the hotel ceiling around 04:00 AM. Also little appetite for food and after three or four days we only experience that we are in the Thai rhythm.
You are not sick, but we do not feel very fit due to the sleep disturbance. What seems to help us a bit are the flight times. Leaving the Netherlands in the evening and not like China Airlines around 14:00. During the evening/night flight, the lights go out around 00:00 and that is also the time for our “Dutch sleep” If you leave in the afternoon, the lights go out around 18:00 and then there is still no sign of us discover sleep. We have already tried a lot, but it is always a bit of a struggle… Anyway, you are in Thailand again, and that makes up for a lot. 🙂
In the thirty years that I have been on the road as a flight attendant, I have never really worried about this phenomenon. I had colleagues who hated flying to Japan, because of the lack of sleep, but to Bangkok or Singapore, even Hong Kong, fewer colleagues had problems, while the time differences between those countries are not that great.
A mental history. In Japan we had to get up early on the day of departure (11 am – XNUMX pm in the Netherlands) and in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok we left late in the evening. So you could sleep in that morning.
Those most affected by jet lag in Japan tried hard to sleep that night. Well, how do you do that?
A flight from Delhi to Frankfurt or Bangalore – Frankfurt was also around midnight and you got just as little sleep as that flight from Japan. Only the sun rose there and in India you flew away at night.
It is mainly, as I wrote, a mental attitude.
The fact is that the body is tired. Naturally. You can't turn back your inner clock so quickly. So you just adjust to your clock. I always went to sleep when I was tired and got up when I woke up. Whether it was two o'clock in the morning when I got up and whether I didn't get tired until six o'clock in the morning and turned off the light.
What I could adjust to was the length of my sleep. Sometimes two hours, sometimes five hours straight.
And now a flight to Bangkok looks like this for me: I leave with my old employer at night and arrive in Bangkok around two o'clock in the afternoon. During the flight I read a lot and watch movies on my tab or play a game. I don't eat much on board. I do drink a lot of water. Sometimes I fall asleep and then wake up after half an hour. Then I just keep looking. Then there is time again for a walk to the toilet and because I know quite a few former colleagues and know when the breaks and waiting times are, I sometimes have a chat with them. This is how time passes quickly. By the way, I always fly economy and because I fly on standby, I don't have the best seat. But as long as you can keep yourself busy for a bit, it's not too bad. I usually only start conversations with my neighbor at the end of the flight.
Upon arrival in Bangkok, after getting my bags, I take a bus to Hua Hin and do the same thing during the three-hour bus journey: I sleep when I'm tired. I'm finally home around eight o'clock in the evening. And I'm already in bed at nine o'clock.....
You also cannot “get used” to jet lag. You just have that.
I am not in favor of pills, alcohol or other aids. I have seen passengers who drank many glasses of wine in order to 'sleep better'. Others thought that champagne was the best solution.
However, most of these on Thailandblog don't go to Thailand for business, so what's the problem of arriving at your destination a little tired. I did have sympathy for the businessmen, who still had meetings on arrival and who really had to sleep during the flight in order to arrive somewhat fit at their destination. I never wanted to trade places with them. While they were at meetings, tours or meetings, I could sleep late in my luxurious hotel room and do what I felt like…. hahaha, but that's not what this is about....
My wife and I suffer from an indefinable feeling for a maximum of one day when we go to Thailand, the other way around. We're off the map for at least three days.
I think a lot of it is psychological.
I always have trouble going (eastward) and backward (westward) not much.
When I went to Asia with group travel, I had a lot of problems the first days. Feeling bad, Dizzy, etc. Now that I go alone I don't have that at all because I can choose my own rhythm. With his group tour you go full too quickly. While the time, but also certainly the weather, etc. require adjustment.
Back in the Netherlands (just got back yesterday evening after 2 months in Chiang Mai) and I don't feel great. But no jet lag, but especially mental. Cold, prices, unsociableness, etc. I want to go back soon.
I have been using melatonin for many years on intercontinental flights. Just 1 pill an hour before the "local" sleeping time, it works perfectly for me, I have no problems and I travel a bit. Am 75 although you wouldn't say that when you see me.
I've been flying with Eva Air lately, 21.40 pm in the evening, wonderful time, normal sleep rhythm ahw
You arrive at the end of the afternoon and can then go to bed in the evening Thai time, usually adjusted in a day.
Back it takes me as many days as there are hours of time difference, so in February it was 6 hours.
I notice that as I get older (now 60) it takes more time. My 25 year old daughter just goes straight to work when she arrives at 6.30:XNUMXam…no need to try again….
I can agree with Cornelis' comment. I've been told that you don't suffer from jet lag if you don't eat during the flight. So… I don't eat and I never suffer from jet lag. I do have +/-3 days of fatigue (jet lag) after the return flight BKK-AMS
On the outward journey, whether east or west, my jet lag is quite limited.
Sometimes I sleep 1 to 2 hours upon arrival at the hotel to regain my strength.
When I return it always takes 5 days before I get rid of that jet lag. My problem is that I wake up between 3 and 4 am and can't go back to sleep. As a result, those five days are very tough.
Dick: The verb to fall asleep can be confusing, because it also means to die. Better is: fall asleep.
Hello…
I honestly don't get the problem...
I have been in the hospitality industry for 25 years, and it often happens that there is little sleep on weekends, not at all… I hardly sleep, because the next wedding party follows… and I also do not fall asleep in that bowl of soup which I serve to the people… I can't afford either…
Think that the concept of “jet lag” is more of a “luxury problem”… I can't afford to have five in any case??? days to recover from it… nap of about three hours, and the job is done… it is just the way you look at it…
Best regards…
Rudy.
Dear Rudi,
I think you greatly undervalue other people's genuine problems by calling it a luxury problem and write that you don't understand the problem.
I have noticed from my own experience that jet lag can really make you sick. Fortunately, I don't always feel bad, but after returning from Thailand I am very tired for at least 6 days in the evening and I prefer to go to bed at 7 o'clock. Just persevere, do something active and then it will be 10 o'clock again. To sleep.
You may be lucky to have less of it.
You are absolutely right. Jet lag is not just being tired for a while, your body really has to synchronize its inner clock with your environment. You can say that for every hour of time difference you need almost a day.
I had already described above that I experienced this three times a month because I traveled the world as a steward.
You cannot prevent it. You can only adapt to the circumstances as best you can.
That's right Rudi. I sometimes also worked for a week in a row with only a few hours of sleep a night and then a walkie-talkie next to the bed for emergencies. What many people don't know is that circuses and fairground rides usually move in the middle of the night. I as the client was precent on arrival. Always with a nice cup of coffee. (Aside. That worked wonders) at an event you had that twice (arrival and departure) further you had the necessary to do during the event. And…that didn't stop when the guests left. An average night's sleep of between three and five hours for a week was no exception. But miz also has to do with how you adjust to this. The same when I went to Thailand. Just accept the time difference and go straight into the rhythm of the Thai. On return the same but of course to the Dutch time. There have been situations when I arrived in the Netherlands in the morning and immediately went to a meeting with my suitcase and all. I had already gone through the documents during the flight.
In our experience, flights departing in the evening are usually not a problem.
Last November I flew to Bangkok again, only the KLM departure times are now BKK-Ams 12:35 during the day instead of in the evening. And so, especially when you get home, you can't sleep well for days. And didn't sleep a wink on the plane.
Dead tired at 8 o'clock in the evening and waking up at 03:00 am and not being able to sleep anymore.
My problem is not the jatleg when I go on vacation, because then
you have something nice to expect, but more when you are back in the Netherlands
because then I have a big Dip that I don't want to look out so as not to get worse
@Roland. That looks more like a severe depression than a jet lag. My advice to use melatonin obviously does not apply to this. But all the other posts I read and speak about problems of not being able to sleep in during or after the trip: Using MELATONIN. It really helps.
Just an addition about MELATONIN. Melatonin is not a medicine or sleeping aid, it is a "body's own" substance that regulates the sleep/wake rhythm. If you take melatonin, the body will "think" that it is night and sleep.
In my experience, there really is a big difference between being 'broke' after a flight and a jet lag. To Thailand vv I am usually broke and it goes well very quickly. 1 time had a real jet lag (12 hours difference) and it was a drama that kept me and my family and colleagues busy for 2 weeks. I do indeed follow many of the tips mentioned here after laughing at the concept of jet lag had passed me by. Sjaak's current flying style is pretty similar to mine. Anyone have experience with the advice of an anti jetleg app? Is that something or is it just a superfluous app story?
When I arrive at a distant destination, I don't suffer much from jet lag. If I am very tired, I sleep a little first.
On return, the jet lag is heavy. Lasts at least six days. Stomach and intestines are in disarray. Many problems with the time difference.
I thought I was alone here with this problem. I don't really suffer from fatigue on the outward journey, but after a few days I still have stomach and intestinal problems for a day or two (sometimes with a slight fever). When I return, I feel more pain. About a week of sudden fatigue in the late afternoon, then I just have to lay down. And again those stomach and intestinal problems, which can occur even in the second week.
Well, sometimes the problem is that you look forward to your trip. The day before you are busy, elated, you go out for dinner or… Get up early the next day to travel from Antwerp to Schiphol, for example. You can easily walk around for several hours before and after checking in. In other words, if you calculate the time from waking up in the morning, add the journey, and if you calculate until you arrive at your hotel, you will soon be on the road for 18 to 20 hours. With a direct flight AMS-BKK. My experience is that when you sleep for about 6 hours during the flight, the jet lag is noticeably milder. After all, with such a flight, a new day begins upon arrival in BKK, and you had already been on the road for 20 hours!
Well, everyone feels differently. And everyone will know his remedies from his own experience and experience.
Just an addition about melatonin. The dose should be at least 2 mg. Nowadays this is available without a prescription at health food stores and online.
If you fly intercontinental for work in another country and leave again after a few days to another continent and have to work after arrival then there is 1 way to get into the rhythm of the country and that is a sleeping pill every night until you stays longer in a certain country and can acclimatize without chemicals.
Jet lag will strongly depend on the time of arrival and how well you slept on the plane.
For example, if you have had a long sleepless flight and you arrive at your bed early in the evening, you can crawl into bed after an hour of recovery and feel quite adjusted the next day.
I speak from experience in that regard.
I always arrived near my bed at that time.
If you arrive exhausted early in the morning, you still have a lot to compensate.
Here is my experience after 40 years of traveling :
– eat tomyam soup upon arrival, the herbs of which will cheer you up.
– eat and drink a lot of ginger.
– drink plenty of water (no alcohol and no meat for a softer digestion)
– go to bed at your normal sleeping hour (sleep or not)
Don't bother if we go to Thailand stay up until the hour we go to sleep in Thailand, west is a problem for at least 4 days
I have no problem arriving in Bangkok-there is so much to see and experience.The big problem on the return journey to Brussels-with Thaiairways departing from Bangkok at 1am.Have a lot of trouble staying awake until 1am. The compensation is that I arrive well rested in Brussels.
Jet lag is always a big deal for me. But that's because of the deluge of impressions and the adrenaline. Sometimes a dead end, but just dive into a pub on night 1 and it will be late by itself. Then sleep well and I'm in the right flow.
I actually have a lot more trouble going back to the Netherlands.
Usually arrive around 7/8 in the morning.
Always fly with Etihad.
And then it usually starts on the route to emigration, it's like you're drunk, like you're on a boat that's reeling, hollow in the head.
Are other travelers also affected by this? This can take up to 4/5 days.
We now go back to NL on Mondays so that we can get back into the rhythm, and be fresh with the boss on Monday.
I flew with KLM the last few years. Depart a little after 17:00 PM CET. Arrival around 10:00 Thai time. I can't sleep on the plane. When I arrive at the hotel I go to bed and wake up between 16 and 17 pm. First day of vacation a bit to the kl*** so... Maybe commenters here who have or have had the same "sleep problem"? Tips welcome!
To Asia I never have any problems, hardly sleep during the flight, I can't. But back in the Netherlands, from Asia, I will be in a jet lag period for at least five days. Terrible really…
I think sitting on a plane for 11 hours without sleeping is a very long time. For years now I've been taking a fat sleeping pill when I leave. It is wonderful to wake up two hours from your destination. I couldn't imagine it any other way.
Not much trouble to Thailand, arrive in the afternoon.
Back to jet lag, that's why I've been taking a sleeping pill when I return for a few years, when I go to bed (as much as possible at the normal time), which I never use otherwise
I do that for a maximum of 2 evenings; less pain after that.
I had read this tip somewhere. The problem with me is that without a sleeping pill I wake up in the middle of the night the first few nights and can't fall back asleep, so I suffer from jet lag for days.
The sleeping pill allows me to sleep until the alarm goes off in the morning.
That's why I asked my doctor for a few sleeping pills.
It is best to pay a little more and book a ticket in Business Class. Can you just sleep and don't have many problems with jet lag. It is best to take a direct night flight to Bangkok and a day flight back.
That is a bit more than “a bit more”… On a direct flight, a return ticket with economy costs about 700 euros, economy plus say 1100 euros, business class 2500 euros. First class will probably soon exceed 6500 euros. And WITH a stopover you can think of roughly 500 euros for economy, 1000 euros for economy plus, business class 2000 euros, first class 5000 euros.
With a minimum wage to an average salary, a business ticket can easily cost you a month's wages or more. Not everyone can or wants to afford that. That "pay a little more" quickly amounts to 3,5-4 times more expensive. Given the average incomes and those prices, that's also a reason why the economy plus gets a lot of praise.
With my income I cannot afford much more than a ticket of 700 euros, sleeping is then impossible for me, but the solution is for me to leave in the evening, do you arrive in BKK in the morning, maybe a take a nap, spend the rest of the day and then go to bed not too late in the evening. Then I don't really suffer from jet lag, but really adjusting to the time difference takes a few days. Back to the Netherlands also in the evening, arriving in the morning. Same story. That is my preference. I am curious how good it is to sleep in an airplane seat that is completely flat and what difference that makes, but for many travelers that is not really affordable.
It is of course more expensive, but not as much as people often think. With KLM you can go back and forth under € 2000,00 and with Air France, via Paris, even under € 1600,00. If you compare that with € 1100,00 for economy comfort, it is not too bad.
Taking a nap on arrival?
Many people stay in hotels when they arrive in Bangkok. At most hotels you can only check in after 14.00 p.m., while many flights land early in the morning at Suvarnabhumi. I always struggle with this problem…
Hi,
Super recognizable all the reactions. The following works for me personally: Melatonin and not eating on board.
Upon arrival in Bangkok (depending on the arrival time, but usually at the end of the morning), I always sleep for 3 hours first. At the end of the afternoon and evening I take it very easy; first enjoy a delicious Thai meal and sometimes a massage. I go to bed around 23.00 p.m., sometimes I take some melatonin, and then I get up at 08.00 a.m. the next morning. Somehow this works best for me and I'm pretty fit the next day.
When I arrive in Bangkok in the afternoon after an EVA flight, I take a walk and then plan to get into my basket “on time”.
But at 22 pm my eyes are still wide open, because it is only 16 pm in my body.
So let's hurry (Brabant expression!)
But hey, at 9 AM in the morning my body is still 3 in the morning!
But after 1 day of BKK I am back to normal.
When I return to Brabant, I can just pick up the thread and not have any problems, except for being homesick.
I have traveled extensively between Thailand and Europe over the last 40 years.
I fully agree with this article but would still like to add this >
1. Deep relaxation is easy to say but not always done. For me, a Reiki session is the answer.
2. Eating a good Tom Yam Hed (mushroom) soup also helps because the herbs in that soup make you sweat and that is a wonderful natural remedy.
3. You can also exercise as long as you sweat well, which should not be a problem in this climate.
I have traveled back and forth to Thailand 16 times. The article posted by the editor wonders how to prevent jet lag. That seems impossible to me. 5-6 hours time difference and sometimes the change from 8 degrees to 40 degrees. Whatever the different reactions, one person is more or less bothered by it, one person calls it a matter of the mind, another speaks of nonsense and another others are very ill from it. Partly because people are different and largely it is a matter of interpretation.
Anyone who sags heavily on the first evening will think the next day that they feel weak because of these steps.
I have spoken to fellow travelers along the way who told me that they always dive straight into the nightlife after arrival. And others who talk about recovering for days.
I always suffer from it more or less equally on the outward and return journey. But after arriving in my beloved Thailand, I am usually happy and excited with enthusiasm. When I return to the Netherlands, it makes me sad. But in both cases my sleep and wake rhythm is disturbed.
For me, there are always 35 hours between the moment I get up in the Netherlands for my departure and the moment I can finally collapse into my bed at my destination. I am 1.96 and weigh 125 kilos. I'm too big for the plane. And sleeping on the road is limited to a few times of 10 to 20 minutes. On the international flight I always have a few drinks, eat and then close my eyes and seek maximum relaxation. I have difficulty meditating at home, but I have to on the plane.
Experience shows that I am so tired when I arrive at my destination in the evening, I am 65, that I cannot sleep easily again, too tired. Then I drink two drinks, take a hot shower and sleep for a few hours. When I wake up I unpack. In my case, the first whole day always seems like the jet lag isn't too bad. Nothing to worry about. just not hungry. It always really hits me on day two. Tired, unsure, a bit shaky. Crossing the busy street then seems like a dangerous thing. Having become wise (?) through experience, I take a really good, good two-hour massage every time instead of a siesta on days two, three and four. Where possible I swim a bit. And I eat soups with lots of ginger. That stimulates combustion. and I read something by the pool. Other than that I'm taking it easy. But they are days that I really enjoy. After all, I am where I want to be. And I always have to learn to relax again. On day 5 I am completely adjusted again and physically fit.
I once read an article that indicated how statistically many accidents and real accidents happen to tourists, especially within those first 4 days. I don't ride my motorcycle there for the first few days. I give it time and I don't complain.