Jet lag advice.....

[alibeau]

Hi Guys,

Looking to hear what works for you with regard to jet lag.

On previous trips we have always booked the late flight home, departing around 8.30pm if i remember rightly. DH always manages an hour or twos sleep on the plane whereas I can't sleep at all. The kids are hit and miss (13 & 11). We would then arrive home (at our house) mid morning stay up all day and then have an early night if necessary.

Strangely I used to get a new lease of life early evening and then stay up til 10pm ish which would get us back on track nicely with bedtimes etc

For our next trip I could only book the early flight back meaning we will be back home (if everything goes to plan) around 9am. I should also say that we land home on Xmas day so having a bit of quality time where we are not zombied would be a bonus! Luckily we have a very flexible extended family who are happy to have our Xmas dinner together at a later date!

Do you think a couple of hours sleep when we arrive home might work on this occasion?

What works for you?

I wouldn't normally be bothered but would just like to make Xmas day as enjoyable for us all as possible!

Thanks in advance.

Ali.

 

[flortlebap]

I don't really sleep much on the plane - 2-3 hours tops, usually broken sleep and dozing.

We nap for 2 hours the second we get home (11ish) then are usually tired again come 11pm and straight back into the normal routine.

The only time I've been really jet lagged for over a week was when we had indirect flights, long delays, I didn't sleep on the plane as they didn't turn the lights off and then we didn't get home until 3pm so not a good time to rest. Nearly finished me off!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

Each time I have been to Florida, we land home about 9am and are home for 11am or so. I've always had a sleep for a few hours and would definitely recommend if you don't managed a lot on the plane.

 

[UKDisneyJoe]

Last time we went we landed around 7.30am and by the time I drove home (tired) it was 9.00am. We crashed out for a nap but woke about 4 hours later then struggled for sleep pattern for a couple of days. I dont sleep on planes as always concerned about my loud snoring We come back on a Wednesday and make sure we take that week off work too so it gives us time. Me and my DW do struggle with jetlag on the way back but are getting a later flight this time and going to have to get some sleep on the plane. We will be on our way back around the time you fly out but have an amazing time alibeau

 

[Markical]

I always tend to take an Advil PM on the road home. I never really sleep on a flight, but this usually means I get a few hours. Usually, we have to change over at London for our final flight back to Glasgow, so a few hours before that always helps me.

Then when we get home, we unpack straight away as it keeps us up. A nap for an hour or two later, then usually find we are tired at normal times and back to UK time quickly.

 

[alibeau]

Thanks everyone for your replies.....

I guess we'll see how we feel on the day but I am thinking that a quick nap when we arrive home sounds like our best bet!

Thanks again.

 

[Aardvarks]

You don't experience jet lag flying west. Jet lag kicks in when flying east more than four time zones. My family and I have been to the USA now more than 25 times and never had an issue outbound. On return it can be an issue, especially if you are coming from the west coast...I take melatonin an hour before bedtime when I get back for the first week and set my alarm for 06:45 and ensure that I get into the sun as soon as possible. It is important to eat 3 meals per day at the UK time. It is worse when taking winter vacations.

 

[danandjackie]

As said its rare to get it flying west (unless you had knocked yourself out with a full afternoon sleep on the plane) -- Basically watch films, get off, dont go to bed, eat an evening meal or hit the park and then sleep - you will probably deep sleep quickly which will mean you may wake up at 5am instead of your normal time but your fit and ready to go...

East coast coming back just eat your meal and sleep - wake up in the morning as you arrive home to land and try to keep awake as long as possible that day (less easy because hitting deep sleep on a plane isnt easy even with a bed seat) - the key is to get back into routine quickly and on that first day back get as far into the evening when home as possible otherwise it can become a bit space cowboy... taking an afternoon nap can really throw things because you will hit deep sleep

West coast can be a little more of a struggle though - try to really sleep on the plane

 

[Aardvarks]

As said its rare to get it flying west (unless you had knocked yourself out with a full afternoon sleep on the plane) -- Basically watch films, get off, dont go to bed, eat an evening meal or hit the park and then sleep - you will probably deep sleep quickly which will mean you may wake up at 5am instead of your normal time but your fit and ready to go...

East coast coming back just eat your meal and sleep - wake up in the morning as you arrive home to land and try to keep awake as long as possible that day (less easy because hitting deep sleep on a plane isnt easy even with a bed seat) - the key is to get back into routine quickly and on that first day back get as far into the evening when home as possible otherwise it can become a bit space cowboy... taking an afternoon nap can really throw things because you will hit deep sleep

West coast can be a little more of a struggle though - try to really sleep on the plane

Yep don't take an afternoon nap when you get home. we get in to MAN early morning and by the time we have driven back to Tyke land it is midday. We all fight to stay awake until 19:00 or 20:00 and then sleep through to the alarm at 06:45. I am usually back at work that morning and may have anything up to a 3 hours drive.

 

[wifey]

When we fly home I don’t sleep a wink on the plane it’s just too noisy even with ear plugs in. I stay awake after landing until we reach home, after collecting the cats from their holiday home, so does DH ... DS however gets to about 30 minutes from home and sleeps then. We unpack the majority of the cases and put things away set off laundry and nap for about 2 hours. We’ve usually been on the go about 30 hours straight by that point we need a nap. Then. Get up catch up with the tv shows we missed and grab a takeaway meal. Then it’s just a case of begin photo and video editing and reading emails etc. until our normal bed time of around 22:30. It takes a couple of days to get back into a normal routine but by the end of the week we are back to work anyway. That’s when the fun begins trying to get back to normal meal times is a pain. TBH we never really seem to feel we’re living in only one time zone. We are constantly thinking “ in Florida it’s only (read our time zone minus 5 hours) o’clock” .

 

[1andrea]

When we fly home we are usually home for 9-10 am and then have a little nap until lunchtime. It works for us as we can then stay up until 10-11pm. I couldn't stay awake all the following day after having zero sleep on the plane. I'm a demon without sleep x

 

[alibeau]

Thanks everyone. I am thinking we will try the 'nap' route when we get home. I was just worried that we might wake up feeling rotten. If we are home for 9am ish we could nap til say noon and then enjoy whats left of our Xmas day!!!

Thanks again.