Jet lag- how do you handle if?

[mdwest]

That was extremely specific description.

while that description was from the recesses of my imagination..

I have witnessed something pretty close to as bad..

Names have been changed to protect the innocent!

So.. in the late 2000's I was traveling with a very high profile political type and the rest of the normal entourage..

the spin doctor/ PR guy among this group was a truly great guy.. we'll call him "Kevin" .. funny.. smart.. very friendly.. etc.. but.. he also really liked to get into the bottle when the "wheels up" parties happened (put the protected person/VIP on the final flight home after a trip with a couple of members of the protective detail.. and everyone else stays behind for a day or two to finish up the mission)..

this particular mission ended in Finland.. we had been on the road for almost a month.. and we were all exhausted and ready to get home..

but.. not our spin doctor.. Finlandia Vodka was having a "worlds greatest bartender" competition at a place next door to our hotel.. and there we a large number of absolutely beautiful Finnish women present.. our spin doctor was determined to attend and show off his incredible american drinking skills (or lack thereof)...

and attend he did.. until about 3AM from what I was told..

he wanders back to the hotel, goes to his room, and decides he is too amped up to sleep.. so he takes an ambien..

about 10AM the next morning everyone is looking for "Kevin".. No one saw him at breakfast.. he wasnt answering his blackberry (this pre-dates iphones and androids )... wasnt answering the door of his hotel room.. and we were all supposed to be getting in a motorcade and heading to the airport to go home in about an hour..

So I send out a search party for Kevin..

20 minutes in, and no one has found him yet..

I decide to "take the stairs" rather than the elevator to go back up to Kevins room... and lo and behold, what do I find at the bottom of the stairwell in a very nice/expensive hotel in Helsinki?

Kevin...

butt ass naked.. wearing only his $1500 bespoke italian leather dress shoes, his $250 Ferragamo tie, and a "party pass" on a lanyard from the Finlandia event.. snoring loudly, drooling all over the concrete lol..

I spent the next half hour figuring out how to sneak him back up to his room unseen.. and figuring out how to get him into his room once we got there (he didnt have many places to be hiding his room key lol).. managed to wake him, get him dressed, and get him down to the vehicles with about 2 minutes to spare...

and he had exactly zero knowledge or understanding of how he got there.. all he knew is he got undressed (nude), jumped into bed to sleep.. and the next thing he knew my 6'4" self was standing over him, slapping him on his ass telling him to "wake up! the cops are coming!!!!" at the bottom of a stairwell.. lol..

we still dont have a clue how he ended up with his tie, shoes, and lanyard back on

 

[poco]

As others stated-Always, always book at least 2 days in Africa before your pick up or hunt date. Allows seamless acclimatization to temps, allows your body's clock to adjust and gives you more time in Africa, smell, sounds, feeling and people. Also allows airlines to get your luggage to you if something is misplaced, lost or does not arrive.

Never done a safari without those days and many times it has saved me a possible nightmare. There are many low cost awesome places to stay in and around Joberg so extra costs in money are minimal.

MB

I have pollen allergy’s and every new destination needs a 24-48 hour chance to get accustomed to the environment, I do the same when sheep & elk hunting
2 days @ +5000ft then 1 day @ 9k usually helps with altitude sickness

 

[Bert the Turtle]

And don’t shoot anything the first day. Just enjoy the day. I don’t care how much you tell yourself you are fine, you aren’t. You (we all) are impaired and shouldn’t be touching anything more dangerous than a down pillow the day after the flight.

 

[Red Leg]

So this is an old military guy speaking. There is nothing you can really do. It takes one day for every two hours of time change to get back to full efficiency. That is a planning model for major airborne deployments. I personally find sleeping on the flight over is useful for me and pay for a business class seat. But if I do so, I am typically up half the night at the arrival site. One reason I like the Qatar flight is that you spend the first day of jet lag flying.

Drink coffee to get going. Go ahead and take a nap, and in most of Africa you will be right as rain in three days.

 

[thriller]

Ambien

I know a guy that almost got stomped to death by a moose trying that trick…

 

[fourfive8]

Outbound no issue. Pumped and ready to go. Usually causes me to get up even earlier than I do at home. At home 5 AM. At camp maybe 3-4 AM. When arriving in camp, I sort gear and settle in upon arrival then let PH and staff know to start campfire early and have some real filter coffee (not instant!) ready EARLY. Never an issue as most camps have staff who are assigned to stay up all night anyway. Get up, take a quick shower, sit down by the fire and enjoy the camp, bush and all the wildlife waking up. Best time of day.

For return, put me on the plane for the long leg then upon arrival just scoop me up in a big spatula, dump me in the re-entry aisle and the firearm inspection area. Point me to the proper gate for final flight. Figure out how to drive again in traffic when leaving the final airport and drive home or to hotel for overnight before returning home. Then a couple of weeks to let the internal clock reset.

 

[Daniel Cary]

 

[mdwest]

One reason I like the Qatar flight is that you spend the first day of jet lag flying.

While I know the PH hates the insanely early pick up at Joberg.. I really like the 4AM arrival on the Qatar flight for the same reason..

Sleep on the plane the best you can.. wake up at the last minute before the flight touches down.. and its not really that much unlike a normal day for me (I typically wake every morning about 530).. Im a little tired on the first day.. but not horribly..

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

If I am on a Qatar flight landing early morning I try sleep as much as can on plane. Usually picked up and in camp before noon. Never bad issue with jet lag on that flight.
Delta landing late PM I try Not to sleep on it. I usually get room close to airport. Get good long night sleep and picked up or leave out next morning rested. I don't drink alcohol on the flights either, water and maybe a soda. Keeps swelling down in legs that way.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Not well.

I know one thing, any future safari will be 10+ days instead of 7..

 

[wesheltonj]

From the USA, Economy seat flight drink till you pass out. Business class a few drinks and a lay flat seat and all is good. Return to the USA, a couple of cat naps and stay awake for the most part, so that when you are home you sleep.

 

[Tgood1]

Bourbon. Screw the pharmaceuticals, enjoy the trip, read ruark, watch YouTube videos of where u hunt, live it up, take a day or 2 off when u return, u can recover as needed after the hunt

 

[ActionBob]

be advised.. ambien and alcohol dont mix.. 1 beer and 1 tablet will have you found in the aircraft toilet wearing nothing but your binos and RYO harness singing your favorite mariah carey tunes.. with zero memory of it when you wake up..

if you get a prescription for ambien DO NOT touch the booze while on the plane!

Sounds like a serious dose of experience

 

[deewayne2003]

As someone with diagnosed insomnia from an early age and having been prescribed Ambien in the past I can tell you that I would avoid it if at all possible.

What has worked for me avoiding jet lag on several long haul flights including two trips to Australia with 17hr flights is….

Figure out the local time of where you are staying and how many hours of sleep you normally get.

Plan out how many hours of sleep you need and time it so you will wake up at your new morning schedule.

Deliberately stay up as long as you can before your flight so you can assure quick sleep when you’re pre planned “crash time” comes.

plan your sleep on the plane to wake up either at the new morning schedule or an hour before the plane lands.

Bring a GOOD airplane pillow, blindfold & noise canceling headphones.

 

[DLSJR]

As many have mentioned, a couple extra days on the front end do wonders.

I’m leaving for Cameroon in a couple weeks, Biz Class on Turkish Airlines. I’ve got a 2-day layover in Istanbul, then on to Cameroon. I’ll be fine, even though my flight lands at 2:00 AM in Doula. 7 hour layover, then fly north to Garoua, 5 hour drive to camp, dinner and I’ll be ready for bed by 8:00 PM.

I have a tougher time when I return home. The West Coast is 8 hours behind Cameroon, so hopefully won’t be as bad as Tanzania, which is 10 hours difference.

 

[RR 314]

while that description was from the recesses of my imagination..

I have witnessed something pretty close to as bad..

Names have been changed to protect the innocent!

So.. in the late 2000's I was traveling with a very high profile political type and the rest of the normal entourage..

the spin doctor/ PR guy among this group was a truly great guy.. we'll call him "Kevin" .. funny.. smart.. very friendly.. etc.. but.. he also really liked to get into the bottle when the "wheels up" parties happened (put the protected person/VIP on the final flight home after a trip with a couple of members of the protective detail.. and everyone else stays behind for a day or two to finish up the mission)..

this particular mission ended in Finland.. we had been on the road for almost a month.. and we were all exhausted and ready to get home..

but.. not our spin doctor.. Finlandia Vodka was having a "worlds greatest bartender" competition at a place next door to our hotel.. and there we a large number of absolutely beautiful Finnish women present.. our spin doctor was determined to attend and show off his incredible american drinking skills (or lack thereof)...

and attend he did.. until about 3AM from what I was told..

he wanders back to the hotel, goes to his room, and decides he is too amped up to sleep.. so he takes an ambien..

about 10AM the next morning everyone is looking for "Kevin".. No one saw him at breakfast.. he wasnt answering his blackberry (this pre-dates iphones and androids )... wasnt answering the door of his hotel room.. and we were all supposed to be getting in a motorcade and heading to the airport to go home in about an hour..

So I send out a search party for Kevin..

20 minutes in, and no one has found him yet..

I decide to "take the stairs" rather than the elevator to go back up to Kevins room... and lo and behold, what do I find at the bottom of the stairwell in a very nice/expensive hotel in Helsinki?

Kevin...

butt ass naked.. wearing only his $1500 bespoke italian leather dress shoes, his $250 Ferragamo tie, and a "party pass" on a lanyard from the Finlandia event.. snoring loudly, drooling all over the concrete lol..

I spent the next half hour figuring out how to sneak him back up to his room unseen.. and figuring out how to get him into his room once we got there (he didnt have many places to be hiding his room key lol).. managed to wake him, get him dressed, and get him down to the vehicles with about 2 minutes to spare...

and he had exactly zero knowledge or understanding of how he got there.. all he knew is he got undressed (nude), jumped into bed to sleep.. and the next thing he knew my 6'4" self was standing over him, slapping him on his ass telling him to "wake up! the cops are coming!!!!" at the bottom of a stairwell.. lol..

we still dont have a clue how he ended up with his tie, shoes, and lanyard back on

Dear Lord, please let me make it through life without slapping a naked man on the ass telling him to “get up”. Amen

 

[matt85]

Figure out what the time is at your destination and start doing your best to get your sleep schedule timed with that as soon as you are heading across the Atlantic.

Then follow the above advice from there

This is what I do.

I also won't do less than a 10 day trip. The trip is much more fun when you are fully awake.

 

[mdwest]

Dear Lord, please let me make it through life without slapping a naked man on the ass telling him to “get up”. Amen

the things we do to feed our children...

 

[R eight]

Fly in 2 to 3 days early. Gives you time to get into local mode. And, gives you a buffer for delayed or cancelled flights and locating lost luggage.

Fly out two to three days after the hunt. Good buffer for delayed charter flights etc.

 

[Backyardsniper]

this.

I typically wait until we get to altitude and take an ambien.. that will usually put me down for a solid 8 hours.. I wake up a couple of hours before we get to Doha, watch a movie, and then get off the plane. .

I then repeat the process between Doha and Joberg.. thats a shorter leg.. I normally dont wake up with enough time to watch a movie.. but I'll grab something to eat and drink a bit of water.. and I am ready to go.. wide awake and bushy tailed, ready to go hunt

be advised.. ambien and alcohol dont mix.. 1 beer and 1 tablet will have you found in the aircraft toilet wearing nothing but your binos and RYO harness singing your favorite mariah carey tunes.. with zero memory of it when you wake up..

if you get a prescription for ambien DO NOT touch the booze while on the plane!

Ohhh that is no lie! I had an XO in Iraq that used to take it and we would occasionally get some care packages and well, you know how it goes! He speaks the truth here, don't fight it either. Take it and go directly to sleep! I thought I had a night off once and took one, then last minute had to drive a tank on a mission because we had a guy out on R&R. Ambien is a hell of a drug!