They Learned the Hard Way

I always wear sport jackets. You can stuff so much in them, and they still look snazzy. I bring a pair of nice warm socks (shoes come off), a sleeping mask, my iPod, eyeglasses and contacts case, lip balm, lotion, back issues of The New Yorker magazine, and anything I'm afraid of missing if the airline loses my checked luggage. I also carry an empty Nalgene bottle and fill it up at a drinking fountain after security. —Mo Frechette

I never fly without my Bose noise-reducing headphones. —Claus Sendlinger

I wear comfortable layers to make it easy to adjust to different temperatures, and then I bring a good book and as little else as possible! —Bruce Haxton

HOW TO DEAL WITH JET LAG

Make sure you change to the local time immediately. Never get tempted to go to sleep just because you would be in bed at home. You just have to tough it out! —Bruce Haxton

I try to adjust my sleep cycle while in transit. And I drink lots of water—hydration is a beautiful thing, and helps a lot in combating fatigue. —Geoff Watts

I have always found it best to just jump right into local time. I switch my watch to local time right away and try to stay awake until the local bedtime, and I get up in time for breakfast. Taking an evening stroll the first night wherever I am is always a nice way to ease into the new time zone. —Anne Wood

I ignore jet lag completely and just carry on doing whatever I have to do in the time zone of the country I arrive in. —Henry Madden

I use melatonin. The day I depart, I take 1 mg of melatonin at the bedtime of my destination's time zone, so if I am flying from L.A. to Paris and plan to go bed there at midnight, I will take the melatonin at 3 P.M. L.A. time on the day I fly out. Then I take another 1 mg dose of melatonin at bedtime when I have reached my destination. I also drink lots of water and get as much natural light as possible. —Walter Lowry

Going westbound: hot sake and good sushi. Eastbound: a long walk and a Weizenbier (wheat beer). —Claus Sendlinger

GETTING YOUR BEARINGS

Usually, I study a map prior to arrival-and the combination of having studied a map and taking a walk makes a new neighborhood seem familiar. —Walter Lowry