4 ms·

Melatonin does NOT work as a remedy for jet lag. I don't find open access links to the relevant studies right now but http://www.nojetlag.com/melatonin.html htt

by chmars 13y ago

Melatonin does NOT work as a remedy for jet lag. I don't find open access links to the relevant studies right now but http://www.nojetlag.com/melatonin.html http://www.nojetlag.com/melatonin.html might give you a first idea.

pcl 13y ago
Anecdotally, melatonin works wonders for me when traveling. I take 1mg of melatonin between 7 and 9pm in the target time zone's frame, usually starting the day I travel or sometimes the day before. This translates to taking a pill at noon or so in SF before flying to Europe. I follow that up with a pill on the first few evenings of a trip. I've been doing this for a few years now, and the only remnant of jetlag on such trips is that I feel terrible around 3pm in Europe, which translates to 6am. So I'm guessing that my natural not-yet-shifted sleep cycle is rebelling at that point and trying to convince my body that I just stayed up all night. Of course, I am an n=1 population size, and the routine has worked so well that I haven't dared to do a significant time zone shift without it. So it could just be me, or it could be the placebo effect. And I'm perfectly ok with that, as long as the jet lag stays at bay.
- nwomack 13y ago
  n=2, see my response to chmars
nwomack 13y ago
Wow, you linked a homeopathic reference. This doesn't really deserve a response but I'll give it anyways. It's anecdotal, but for the first 3 days after a major timezone travel difference (6+ hours), I take 2 pills (I think 6mg?) for the first 3 days after I travel about an hour before sleeping, then drink a couple cups of coffee in the morning. I guess it depends on how you define "remedy" but this helps me sleep all the way through the night, and the caffeine helps keep me awake during the day. This combination takes my jetlag from debilitating to annoying. On the 4th day I have 0 jetlag related issues.

by chmars 13y ago

pcl 13y ago

Anecdotally, melatonin works wonders for me when traveling. I take 1mg of melatonin between 7 and 9pm in the target time zone's frame, usually starting the day I travel or sometimes the day before. This translates to taking a pill at noon or so in SF before flying to Europe. I follow that up with a pill on the first few evenings of a trip. I've been doing this for a few years now, and the only remnant of jetlag on such trips is that I feel terrible around 3pm in Europe, which translates to 6am. So I'm guessing that my natural not-yet-shifted sleep cycle is rebelling at that point and trying to convince my body that I just stayed up all night. Of course, I am an n=1 population size, and the routine has worked so well that I haven't dared to do a significant time zone shift without it. So it could just be me, or it could be the placebo effect. And I'm perfectly ok with that, as long as the jet lag stays at bay.

nwomack 13y ago
n=2, see my response to chmars

nwomack 13y ago

Wow, you linked a homeopathic reference. This doesn't really deserve a response but I'll give it anyways. It's anecdotal, but for the first 3 days after a major timezone travel difference (6+ hours), I take 2 pills (I think 6mg?) for the first 3 days after I travel about an hour before sleeping, then drink a couple cups of coffee in the morning. I guess it depends on how you define "remedy" but this helps me sleep all the way through the night, and the caffeine helps keep me awake during the day. This combination takes my jetlag from debilitating to annoying. On the 4th day I have 0 jetlag related issues.