Originally Posted by
Cleared4appch
Do people ever really fully adapt to the constant circadian swaps with international flying? Or is it just one of those things where it’s next to impossible to do, and you’re always going to be tired to an extent and you just deal with it?
Originally Posted by
goinaround
I did a masters (don't recommend) in Human Factors and did my big project on just this subject. Long story short....you'll never adapt. All you can do is mitigate.
Originally Posted by
Cleared4appch
Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. Yea when I was much younger out of college, I worked an overnight job. It was rough. But it was relatively easy to switch my sleep schedules back and forth, being in a single time zone of course. What gives me pause about doing international flying are the constant circadian swaps. I’d imagine there are some folks that are just ‘meant’ for it, and can handle it no problem.
Some handle it better than others for sure, by way of how they feel, but I think everyone suffers similarly physiologically. I've read a lot about it and regardless of how you feel, the physiological effects of circadian shifts are pretty frightening. Honestly, I could NEVER do the ACMI 15-day deal. I'm on a WB fleet now, and even though I sleep great on the plane, I still try to fly trips where the times (flight, break, etc) suit me best for staying on my home timezone as best as possible. That means skipping the drinks and staying awake all night at the layover hotel for the huge shifts. Honestly, there are some trips where I feel way better at the end of a 3 or 4 day than I did on a NB. BUT... it is dependent on seniority being able to arrange your schedule certain ways and holding certain trips. The flip side is that some trips can just be pretty brutal.
I don't think you can beat the WB lifestyle, but I do think about the physiological consequences. As difficult as it will be to go back to the NB grind, I foresee going back when I can control my schedule sufficiently from the left seat.