Jetlag is a way of life for the Israeli entrepreneur (-- and VC for that matter). As I sit here in Toronto, waiting to board AC 084 to Tel Aviv, my choices are to eat high fat/high calorie junk food, catch-up on my reading, work on my Photoshop skills or blog....
Thought to share some tips about beating jetlag. Jetlag is probably one of the most frustrating obstacles to overcome. Under it's influence, we operate at ~70% efficiency, usually when we need to be at our best (customer presentation, important meetings ,etc.). Everybody has their approach at dealing with it. I thought to share mine.
When I started to travel internationally for business, I had no real problems with jetlag. Probably because of the novelty of the subject or age. Both are no longer relevant. Over the years, I've developed my "method".
Rule #1:
Use the help of chemicals. My favorite choice these days is a brand of melatonin called "knock-out". Melatonin is the hormone the body produces when it's time to sleep. The key, however, is deciding WHEN TO TAKE IT. This depends on which flight you've selected, but the guideline - take it according to PM in the new time zone, and of course, before bedtime once you've arrived.
Rule #2: Eat according to your new time zone as soon as you leave.
Rule #3: Carry a water bottle with you and drink all the time (an aisle seat is a good idea...)
Rule #4: Don't fight sleep. If you feel like sleeping on a plane, even though the hours are totally wrong , just doze off. The flight will pass faster.
Rule #5: If, unfortunately, you've found yourself awake at 3AM - DON'T DO EMAIL!!! It's the worse! Tossing and turning pretty much never results in going back to sleep - you just get frustrated. Instead, make yourself something to eat, walk around a bit, watch something really boring on TV, take another melatonin and go back to bed. Some of those yoga breathing exercises can be useful too.
Some practical examples during flight:
Air Canada (from USA -> Israel): leave SFO at noon; eat lunch on the plane (bring something with you or you're going to suffer with the worst quality junk food imaginable); with 3 hours to kill in between, wander around, get a snack of some sort. Flight 084 leaves Toronto at Midnight - don't eat on the plane (wrong hours!). Drink some red wine and go to sleep naturally. Put on the "do not disturb" sign, use ear plugs and eye shades. Forget about being awaken for other meals.
Air Canada(from Israel -> USA): leave TLV at midnight; drink red wine and go to sleep naturally. Same thing regarding "do not disturb". Upon arrival in Toronto, wander around the airport a bit (although this happens by itself, since you have to change terminals, and deal with double customs, etc.). Leave for SFO ~9AM, take 1/2 melatonin and go to sleep again!
Both Delta and Continental offer alternatives that are similar in their hours... just use this method.
Lufthansa (from USA -> Israel): Try and avoid the 3PM from SFO flight - you get stuck in Frankfurt for way too long - and arrive in TLV at a terrible hour. I prefer a multi-leg journey: SFO-> Portland/Chicago/Dulles -> Frankfurt -> TLV. Whichever you decide, on the leg TO Frankfurt, eat dinner, drink red wine and take Melatonin. Forget about the movies, just doze off. On the leg from Frankfurt to TLV, you'll still be tired, so drink some more and go back to sleep.
Lufthansa (from Israel -> USA): Leave TLV at 5:30AM - you'll sleep because you're just tired! Transit on this route in Frankfurt is tight, so when you board the leg to SFO, eat lunch, drink red wine, and take your melatonin. With a bit of luck, you'll awake upon landing at SFO.
Nesiya Tova (-- that's Bon Voyage in Hebrew).
Thanks! it's helpful to me!
Posted by: Ugg Adirondack | December 06, 2011 at 02:46 PM