Guest bug smasher Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I was talking with a long haul pilot and asked The Question...Is it hard on your body jumping Time zones and being forced to eat a different Diet each time you land. Answere.. You betchya...Some of us go to work tired to get in sync... Others just take barbitutes to get caught up on sleep when we get home... Is this really true...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jazzplayer Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Of course its true, most longhaulers don't know whether to $hit or wind their watch. Look at longevity studies of Quantas pilots not to mention the lovely radiation exposure for extended periods above 350. They make a lot of money and their widows enjoy spending it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 My impression is that individuals handle the long flight/time zone effects differently at different times, but that everyone is affected by it in some way or another. I've had long flights, come home and shrugged it off like it was a trip to the supermarket. Most other times it takes a day or two to get over. Other times, I feel like death. There doesn't seem to be any predicting the effect, either. Everyone has their own way of compensating, too. Some like to sleep at outbound destination, some like to nap and then go out, some forget the sleep and just keep going until bedtime in the new time zone. There's just one thing to say about all of these schemes: that they don't work and you will still feel like a wet bag of offal. Some pilots and F/A's do use medication to try and get a good sleep and resync, but barbiturates are not a good choice. They're a pretty heavy duty and addictive drug; and there's a good number of mild and sleep-specific medications that don't have the side-effects that barbiturates have. These are the ones that I hear about people taking, and if you need them they're a real boon with minimal downside. neo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B75/76 Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Got it nailed I think, Neo. I don't think medication is a good option either (for me anyway). I have found some herbal sleep aids helpful though. They seem to take the edge off enough to help get some sleep on the road. Of course the sedating effects of hops also helps. So a pint or two never hurts either. ( ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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