Some teams take a day off to work on correcting jet lag.  Travel to and from our staging area takes so long our teams cannot afford the luxury of a day to get reoriented.  The key is to sleep when it is night time at your destination and not night time where you left.

We travel across the Atlantic in the evening and then proceed to Africa during daylight.  We eat the meal offered on the flight, then try to catch about three hours of sleep, the time remaining betwee dinner and landing. The other option would be to skip the meal and go to sleep right away.  So in our case, we must go to sleep in the plane at 7:30 or 8 PM.  We wear sleep masks over our eyes.  Even if you cannot go to sleep, merely keeping light out of your eyes for three hours gives some rest, simulates sleep during the night, and helps the body clock adjust with minimal problems.

Our bodies say it is midnight.  But because of the time change, we land in Europe about the time we would normally want to sleep.  In their time zone it is already the dawn of a new day.  A short nap in the airport or a short nap while the next plane is waiting for all its passengers to board helps a lot.  But once underway, short naps tend to become all flight long naps completely confusing the body’s clock.  Best to stay awake the whole flight.  Rule of thumb: if it is daylight at your destination, stay awake. Once in Africa you get a second wind.  Stay up until 9 PM. Retire before 10 PM.  If you wake up at 2 AM, pray, but stay in bed.  Your body clock is reset with the morning light.  One more good night’s rest the next night and you are fully rested and synchronized.

God’s grace and the followings steps help us cope successfully:

Be well rested the week or two before you travel. Starting out exhausted only complicates matters.  Missions travel is not for relaxation.

A week or two before the flight start going to bed  15 to 30 minutes earlier each night.  The earlier you go to sleep in the U.S., the more likely you can go to sleep on the plane early in the evening.  The Mayo Clinic recommends that if you’re traveling east, try going to bed one hour earlier each night for a few days before your departure. Go to bed one hour later for several nights if you’re flying west. If possible, eat meals closer to the time you’ll be eating them at your destination.

Practice sleeping at home with a sleep mask covering your eyes.  That way it will not be a strange, first-time experience when you do it on the plane. If you have never slept with earplugs, you should practice that, too. Planes are noisy places when you are trying to sleep at a different time than you normally do.  Invariably someone nearby wants to stay awake.

Drink plenty of water when traveling.  Be well hydrated before, during, and after travel. Airline cabins are famous for being dry. Caffeine dehydrates and fights sleep, so avoid it before trying to sleep.  As long as you drink plenty of water or juice also, some caffeine may be of assistance in the portion of the trip when you are trying to stay awake.

Protein is good.  Carbohydrates, fat, and sugar make you sleepier.  Avoid too much sugar which just gives you energy that needs to be burned.

Get exercise when you can.  Take a walk in the airport.  Move around on the plane.  Rise up and down on your toes and move all limbs in lots of directions while waiting for the plane’s rest room.

Experienced travelers say Tylenol PM or Melatonin are helpful. I find that melatonin will assist me going to sleep, but will not leave me drowsy or unable to awaken.  It is gentle without much power.  Try it once at home to see how it works on you.  Some say to take it 30 minutes before you want to sleep.  Others say you must take it and immediately after closing your eyes since light tells the body to stay awake and fights the mild work of the melatonin.

Flying westward gives us a 29 or 30 hour day.  If you stay up the whole day, you will be tired when you go to bed, but your body clock will not be disoriented.  Plan to sleep in an extra hour or two if you can the first night back in the states.

None of the above should be construed as medical advise.  Check everything with your physician.