Beating the Japan Jetlag

I'm from East coast, which has a time difference from Japan of 12 hours, about as long as you can get before the difference begins to shrink again. The jetlag turns your body upside down. As far as your internal clock is concerned, day becomes night and vice versa.

But strangely, people that make the trip between Japan and the Eastern seaboard often notice that the jetlag coming back from Japan is much worse than the jetlag going to it. I never understood why this was- why is the gap between 11am and 11pm Monday so much harder to deal with than the gap between 11am Monday and 11pm the previous night? But for whatever reason, the qualitative experience is different. Coming to Japan, the day is bright and full when you sense it should be dark. The shining sun and flurry of activity keeps you awake, as much as you wish you could sleep. Coming back, however, the opposite occurs- as night falls, your internal clock rings, and you begin to waken. This can often result in a week or two of bleary eyed insomnia. Its a lot easier to keep a disoriented body awake at "night" than it is to convince it to sleep during the "day".

With time though, I've gotten better and better at beating the return-home jetlag. Here are my tips:

1. If you have a choice, take a red-eye flight

You should probably be doing this anyway, since traveling at night saves you from wasting a day doing it, and extends the real length of your time back. People avoid the red-eye because they hate the idea of staying awake all night. What they don't realize is that as far as their bodies are concerned, they'll be "staying awake at night" for the next few days anyway; all the red eye does is give them a head start on beating the jet lag before they even arrive. Drink lots of coffee before you leave and do what you can to convince your internal clock that its morning as you go. Soon enough, that hour truly will be morning.

2. When you arrive, stay awake for the remaining daylight hours at all costs.

If you've timed it right, it should be close to nightfall as you arrive anyway. But if not, keep awake at all costs- falling asleep during the day will make it very hard to sleep when night comes, undoing all your hard work staying awake during the flight.

Of course, staying awake after you've already been up for 24 hours is easier said than done. The key is activity. Go out with family or close friends who will understand if you're out of it for the first day, and keep talking to fight off the sleep. If you just got back, you should have lots to talk about anyway.

Avoid coffee at this point. Remember- the point is to sleep at night, not just stay awake during the day. You want your body to be at ease and ready for sleep when its time to do it.

3. Take some Melatonin before you go to bed

Melatonin gives your body that woozy, sleepy feeling that comes over you as night approaches. Aside from its obvious use in fighting insomnia, it also helps adjust your body's clock. Its likely one reason you stay awake at night during jet lag is because your body isn't producing enough of it when you need it, so help it along.

If you follow these steps, you should be feeling better by your second day back. Or even your first morning back, if you time the departure time of your flight just right.