TIP SHEET

There's little scientific evidence that melatonin works as a sleep aid. Researchers, however, have found it to be effective in advancing people's internal clocks before an eastward flight. Charmane Eastman, a circadian-rhythms scientist at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, recently published a study in which she used melatonin and exposure to artificial light in the morning to switch volunteers to an earlier sleep schedule over the course of three days. Melatonin, administered at a low dosage--0.5mg--five hours before bedtime, says Eastman, helped her volunteers fall asleep earlier, which would allow them to adapt more easily to a new time zone.

Travelers who don't like popping pills can always follow Israel Baron's approach to flying--if they can afford it: the Los Angeles-based film producer, who flies twice a month to London on Virgin Atlantic, always flies first class, sleeps on a flat bed and never misses an in-flight massage. "The main thing is to feel comfortable," he says. For most travelers, that's easier said than done. Pass the Ambien.

Meetings: Seats Of Power

Forget long wooden tables, swivel chairs and stodgy portraits on the wall. TIP SHEET found conference rooms that can spice up even the dullest business meeting:

Taipei 101: The meeting room on the top floor of Taiwan's tallest skyscraper offers a 360-degree view of the city below--and the mountains beyond. What better way to seal the deal?

The New Armouries at the Tower of London: It has seen kings, dissidents and beheadings. Now the Tower of London rents out its armory for banquets and board meetings.