Fighting Jetlag Before Flying - Update

Let me tell you about my last two weeks...

For the last two weeks I have been moving my inner clock nine hours back to meet the demands that will befall me when I take flight and land at Heathrow airport on Saturday morning. You might ask why moving my inner clock is important. Well, let me tell you. Almost exactly eight years ago, I and Rich flew to England and spent five miserable days neither awake nor sleeping. When our inner clock finally moved, we were only there for another five days. So, I felt I paid for a ten-day vacation, but only got five. So, I’m moving my inner clock because I’m cheap!

Here’s what I did.

Two weeks prior to take off I got up at 4:00 A.M. for three days. This was not a hardship, as I’m used to getting up at 5:00 A.M. and getting ready for work. It is my custom each morning to wake up, have coffee, and then read, write, or grade papers. This was the same, just one hour earlier. I did wear a watch that has a vibrating alarm. This ensured that I was getting up and not the rest of my household.

Approximately one and a half weeks before takeoff I got up at three. A little more difficult. I ensured success by making sure I was getting myself into bed so that I was getting about seven hours of sleep. Again, more difficult but after a few days I was fine.

Next was yet more difficult. It helped and hurt that Rich went out of town for a few days. I set my vibrating alarm to go off at 2:00 A.M., but I ignored it. I failed that first 2:00 A.M. day. I decided to try again, but I set an annoying alarm away from my bed so that I had to get out of bed to turn it off. This annoying alarm I set at 2:03 A.M. thinking that I would punish myself if I didn’t get up to turn it off when my watch alarm vibrated. That morning my watch alarm went off, I ignored it, and off went my 2:03 A.M. ALARM!!! With no one else in the house, I let the URRNTT, URRNTT, URRNTT continue for a full four minutes. I finally got up and success! I was up at 2:07 A.M. The next day I was up at 2:00 A.M.

One week prior to takeoff, Rich came home and my watch alarm was set for 1:00 A.M. I had cleverly set my annoying alarm at 1:03 A.M. I was up at 1:00 A.M. out of sincere fear that I would wake Rich and feel like a heel.

As of today, I will leave for England in about 48 hours. Now, I wake each morning at midnight using the same insane method I did for 4:00, 3:00, 2:00, and 1:00 A.M. I am going to bed at about 5:00 P.M. and the people in my house have not written me out of their will… yet!

You may ask what I do in the morning starting at midnight. Well, I drink coffee, do laundry, drink coffee, bake, drink coffee, wash dishes, drink coffee, and write... making a chronicle of this insanity while I drink coffee.

UPDATE:
I flew from Fairbanks to Seattle where I caught a direct flight from Seattle to Heathrow. I arrived at seven in the morning (London time), was greeted by my son and his fabulous wife, and we puttered about all day! I went to bed about 9:30 that evening. The rest of my trip was more of the same schedule. No jet-lag, no regret, no time spent wishing I was awake, when in fact I was asleep.