There are a number of ways to beat jetlag. Here are 2 of my favourite techniques: melatonin and also following the routines outlined in an excellent book called "Jetlag Passport".

Melatonin

Melatonin is a naturally occuring hormone that is used by the body to regulate sleep cycles. You can find more information about what exactly melatonin is on Wikpedia but essentially what it does it tell your brain that it is dark and it is time to sleep, and then when your brain realises that it is light, your brain says time to wake up. Not a scientific description but it is sure useful for jetlag.

Melatonin is not legal in may countries however you can buy it freely in the USA and i can also get it over the counter in Yemen. Travellers need to take care when entering Dubai as Melatonin is on one of the lists of banned drugs. I will write another pot about this.

Jetlag Passport

I discovered this ebook a few months ago on this site "Jetlag Passport" (opens in a new window). Being a frequent flyer regularly taking eastbound night flights on which i never get much sleep, it used to take me upto 5 days to properly recover and get back to normal (though melatonin has certainly reduced that recovery time)

The $20 ebook claims that through learning a technique for shifting my body’s time clock while riding on the airplane and through doing some simple accupressure technique / mental affirmation exercises every couple of hours, body is already adjusted to the destination timezone when you arrive. The technique is based on EFT ("Emotional Freedom Technique") and I’m very impressed with the book as it seems to have greatly reduced the effects of jetlag. Go and read about it for your self at the JetLag Passport website