Talk to me about jet lag.

Yes, it depends on flight times and your overnight flight should help minimize jet lag. But even so you will still likely experience jet lag. Bear in mind the time change. While you arrive in the early afternoon, your body will still think it's the small hours of the morning. Second it's whether you can sleep on the plane. That will be a function of whether the low hum that always exists on the plane disturbs you, the comfort of your seats, whether you are personally wound up from preparing for your trip, whether the people around you are restless. The list is endless.

A1) Everyone is a bit different and there is no clear cut answer.
A2) But if I get a little nap on the plane, then upon getting to my hotel take a hot shower and put on clean clothes and press myself just a tiny bit to stay occupied until bed time; I am fine the next day (same with returning).

Trotter pretty much nailed it. There are people it affects, and people it doesn't. One individual's way of reducing the impact may not work at all for someone else. Neither my husband or myself can usually sleep on a plane but the excitement of finally arriving usually keeps us functional until an early bedtime. Some coffee can help too. :O)

Sometimes we have felt a little rough when we've first arrived but caught a nice second wind once we've checked in, washed our faces and hit the streets. Other than the little stroll and dinner, you don't have much planned for arrival day so it doesn't sound like you have to be all THAT functional, right? If you're really fighting it, skip the sit-down dinner and grab something light you can eat in your room or on your walk. Funny, we're almost never hungry on arrival day either; I think it's all the sitting on the plane.

I'm one of those zombified travelers. On the one recent trip when I miraculously dozed off a bit on the plane (maybe for 2 or 3 hours?), I felt quite a bit better than I usually do on no sleep. Getting sleep on the plane will help a lot. The other thing to be concerned about is not getting enough sleep the night before your departure. I find it all too easy to stay up all night taking care of final tasks, so I arrive at my departure airport already severely sleep-deprived (and usually still don't sleep at all on the plane). Most likely you will feel better than I do on Day 1. However, I would recommend not pre-paying for any sightseeing on that day or planning an expensive dinner. Don't be surprised if you sleep through the bus ride to Bath (for me, that would be a good thing).

Yep!
I have traveled twice since covid. Each time we have had significant flight delays, which hindered any chance of transiting beyond our flight landing city the day we landed. There are so many more variables now, unpredictable outcomes. You need a plan A and a Plan B.
Sleeping on a plane is generally not high quality sleep. You will be in a new country, dealing with new modes of transportation, currency, hanging onto luggage. You will not be your sharpest. You probably need to get from the airport to the main train station, before catching the connection to Bath. You need to be familiar with the train schedule, platform #'s, etc. Don't expect too much on the first day.
That being said, have a wonderful and safe journey/

Yes, you will be sleep deprived. I leave from the east coast and usually arrive early to mid-morning, and it’s a struggle to stay awake and alert the first day.

That doesn’t mean you can’t do anything the first day or two. Just don’t try anything that requires too much concentration or alertness.

Your plan sounds fine. You may find yourself dozing off on the coach ride, but that’s much better than trying to rent a car and drive to Bath. The post check-in walk is a good idea; it gets you outside and by keeping on the move, you should stay awake until a reasonable hour. If you can avoid going to bed too early, it helps you adjust to the new time schedule faster. You may feel somewhat out of it on your walk, but you can still enjoy the sights, and it's better than napping after checking in.

On the first day of arrival, I always just have plans to walk outside and explore sites versus trying to see an exhibit, tour a museum, etc. Even on the second day, I try to do more active touring (such as a walking tour) versus museums.

I once sat near someone in a London theatre who had just arrived from the U.S. early that day. He had a very expensive nap.

All the best,

Raymond

maryellen, welcome. There will be a lot of opinions and remedies discussed. Here's my two cents.

There're two components to jet lag. Lack of sleep is one, so the more sleep you can get on the plane, the better. Many people sabotage this, though excitement or too much caffeine, by acting like its a normal day at home. That is, eating and drinking at every opportunity, watching all the movies they can, playing cards etc. Then they are zonked out jut about arrival time. Some of us put on a sleep mask, put in the earplugs, and try to rest as soon as they get airborne.

Thats where the other component comes in. Your body has internal clocks. All your organs get used to operating on a 24 hour cycle. So, when you arrive in London at 13:15, your body still thinks its in Seattle where its, what, 4:15? What are you normally doing at 4:15 back home? Sleeping more than likely. So that's what your body expects to be doing, not driving around town, having a big dinner, seeing a show, etc. Everything else your body does can get thrown off. For example, I know I have no appetite for big meals for a few days, because my body thinks its not the right time for dinner.

So after arrival the key is to quickly adjust your body clocks to the local time zone. Taking a long nap on arrival for many of us, will just confuse the body more. Staying up until it is local bedtime is better. Then getting into a daily routine based on local time gets you synced with the local clock.

Now maybe you're young and can adapt quickly, or one of the lucky ones who can power through everything. If so more power to you.

There is no 'one size fits all answer'.

How many hours do you usually sleep in a night?

What hours are your normal sleep time?
How easily do you fall asleep on a plane?

You will be getting off the plane at 5AM 'body time'.

Your plan is a good one (take a leisurely walk, have dinner and retire for the night.).

Arrival day in your circumstance is usually a lost day, but the next morning you should be reasonably 'set to go'.
If you are traveling with others, they may react differently (with a large factor being how they do on the plane)

Having the 'right attitude' will help

There are actually several different things that are usually lumped together and referred to as "jetlag."

Jetlag itself is just the physical and mental effects caused by your body suddenly being in a very different time zone -- your internal body clock is telling you you should be sleeping (whether you are tired or not, it's just "the middle of the night" so time to sleep), but it's 10 am where you are, so you go sightseeing instead. Conversely, it's 2 am, you're laying in bed wide awake and unable to sleep at all, because your body's internal clock, aligned with the time zone back home, tells you it's time to get things done, go to work, run errands, etc. It usually takes some time for your body to catch up with the time zone you've arrived in. How long that takes will depend on lots of variables (your age, fitness, how far west or east you have gone, how well rested you were before you left or how exhausted you were when you arrived, and more). Note that there should be no jetlag if you just fly from say, Canada to Argentina, because you're not crossing (many) time zones. It's the east-west change that gets you.

Then there's simple sleep-deprivation, exhaustion. This is caused by lack of sleep on a flight (some people can sleep anywhere, others need optimal conditions). A cramped seat in basic economy, with a screaming baby nearby, etc., stress, physical discomfort, and more, can make sleep impossible for many of us. IME, sometimes you are sleep-deprived before your trip even starts: stress of pre-travel tasks, extra work, family and home preparation, and other stressors, it all can leave you physically beat-up and worn down before you even head for the airport. Then long waits, long lines, long flights, layovers, etc., and you may land in Europe feeling like a zombie...never mind the jetlag (that comes in the next days), upon arrival you're just exhausted, and all you want is to crash and burn for 12 hours in soft bed in a quiet, dark room (which you should try not to do, because...jetlag).

On top of all that, there's the stress of travel itself. All the other impacts of the lead-up to travel (you have so many things to do, not enough time to do them), and then you have all the hassles of the actual travel itself. Finally -- boom, you land in a foreign place, where everything is different and unfamiliar. Maybe a foreign language, too. Your bags are heavy. The food is weird. You are lost, or at least you have to find your way, and everything is unfamiliar (even in a place like the UK, where at least they speak English, everything is just different enough to make the smallest, most mundane tasks -- crossing the street, buying something, using a bathroom -- more tricky and slightly more demanding than you are used to). More stress, more mental and physical challenges.

Add all these up, and many people are a wreck on their arrival day, and sometimes for days after arrival (or their return).I call it "Geo-spatial displacement dysphoria"™️ and it's real.

I do the Seattle London flights as well. I usually am able to sleep a few hours on the plane and don't try to make any major moves that aren't well planned out in advance that first day. If you have a bus from Heathrow to Bath planned it should work. Just do a little homework in advance. For me, that would mean heading to you tube and watching videos on the Heathrow bus station and looking for one that shows the Heathrow to Bath trip. You can usually find at least one. You can also look for videos that talk about arriving at Heathrow.

Everyone will react differently and even differently to the flights from one trip to another.

I never manage to sleep on planes. Lack of sleep isn’t my issue - it’s the difference in time zones.

I find when I return to England from trips to America, it takes me a week to fully return to “normal” without waking at odd hours. The last thing I would want would be to take a coach to Bath on arrival!

Everybody is different. Your plan wouldn’t work for me, but it may for others.

I had awesome plans this last trip to arrive refreshed because I popped for Delta One lie flat seats for the Seattle to Paris flight. The lady in the "pod" ahead of me talked the whole flipping night. She started out by dropping her water bottle on her husband's head as we were taxiing for take off. Then she lost her hearing aid during the night and the FAs had to try and find it. They were quiet and used a flashlight but she kept proclaiming out loud she'd lost it. So....no sleep. It really does depend on who your "neighbors" are on the flight, lol! Rainy day on arrival... took a walk, had lunch, took a nap and set an alarm.

I think your plan for the bus ride is good. The bus station is pretty easy to find if you follow the signs - it might say "coach" station. You can take a nap on the way to Bath, walk around there, have dinner and then go to bed at what you might consider a "normal" time.

Hi, Maryellen. Welcome to the forum. It looks like you’ve given some consideration to trying to ameliorate your body’s reaction to jet lag. You will be fortunate indeed if you can sleep on the plane. I’m not quite so fortunate. In the event that I do doze off, I’m inevitably awakened by someone needing to get past me to go to the restroom, by the pilot making some announcement or by the flight attendants coming by to offer me food or drink. I would not advise you to take a sleep medication before your flight, as you may, indeed, sleep but wake up drowsy upon your arrival from lingering effects of the sleeping pill. You’ve done well by planning to take the best to bath upon your arrival, as I see a little value and remaining in the arrival city when you have in mind another place to begin your vacation travel adventures. And taking a long walk upon arrival will help your body adjust to the time difference from the west coast of the US. I hope you enjoy your trip. Please come back to the forum section on trip reports and let us know how things went for you.

Jet lag is a true physiological conditions caused by the disruption of the circadian rhythms when crossing time zones. The more you cross the more prolonged the problem. If effects everyone. Bright light through your eye's retina is the best aid for resetting your circadian rhythms -- internal body clock.

A question -- how well do you handle the annual daylight saving time changes? If it has no impact on you then you may be a candidate for min problems. Unfortunately Seattle to London is a big jump. There is no way you would not have some level of a problem. We have made a dozen or so trips to Europe with a time shift of eight to nine hours. This is some of the worse advice --- Taking a long nap on arrival for many of us, will just confuse the body more. Staying up until it is local bedtime is better. --- It is neither false or true. Simply one approach that works for some and not for others. For years we tried this approach with more than one miserable day/evening and dinner trying to stay awake till 9, 10 pm local time. The one year by accident we took a nap -- about 90 mins or so -- from about two to four.. Cannot tell you how refreshed we felt, enjoyed the evening meal, and retired around 10 pm with no problems. Still had some lingering effect the next day but were in good shape. Now that is routine -- sit the alarm for max of 2 hours - but we rarely sleep beyond an hour 45. Now that we are retired we can engage in time shifting prior to departure and that really helps a lot. Starting about three, four week prior we shift everyone an hour back. Three, four days later shift another hour and again. We like to shift about four maybe five hours. Then the last day we functional totally on the local time of our destination from getting up till eating. Once on the plane, it is ear plugs, eye shades and do not bother me until they wake up the plane for breakfast. We do participate in the breakfast service.

You just need to try to find an approach that works for you. You body will tell you. If you feel like you want to take a nap -- do so but make sure it is short. It is not wrong to take a nap. If you think you can gut it out till 9, 10 pm that night then do it. But make notes you may want to try a different approach next time. There is no magic pill.

Traveling several time zones to the east causes worse jet lag than flying the same number of time zones west, and although the precise mechanism isn't known. It probably reflects the greater difficulty of advancing rather than delaying the body's internal clock.

The plan is to take a flight that leaves at 7:30pm Pacific time, nonstop (9 1/2 hours) arriving in London at 1:15pm (or 13:15 local time).

How do you usually feel when you go to bed at 8 pm* and get up at 4:15 am?

** Keeping in mind that this is a false analogy because there is virtually no way you will start sleeping on the plane that soon after departure)*

I fly non-stop from SF to Paris, ie, a long flight. I get terrible jet-lag that can last 5 days no matter when my flight is. I have to fly coach and i cannot sleep sitting up on a plane. I flew 3 times R/T on Norwegian Air and discovered it’s the plane that causes my jet-lag. On Norwegian Air’s Airbus i had no jet-lag at all. It was astounding to me. NA went out of business so last Oct i flew Air France on a Boeing and the jet-lag returned with a vengeance. So, for me, it is the plane and not anything else that causes my jet-lag.

Hi. First a bit confused by your timing. You leave Seattle 7:30 PM, a 9 1/2 hour flight puts you in London at 5 AM Seattle time, which is 8 hours off London's GMT--this would be 1PM. This is significant, because the next coach to Bath appears to be 14:25, and you should be able to count on making this.

I can only tell you our experience from September 2019, out last trip before Covid. We had the same plan. We hoped we would get lucky and make an earlier bus, but did not quite do so (times were bit different on the bus schedule). We were coming from the east coast, so compared to you, we had stay up 3 hours LATER than you will do to go to bed at a normal hour for the new time zone. Yes, the coach ride, after also killing time in LHR, was very soporific, we zoned out and watched pleasant scenery. We followed our usual plan of the last 10 years - we walked to our lodging, showered and changed clothes, and then strolled around until we felt it was time to have dinner (this is not always clear, as eating the airline meals and snacks before and after the flight - we pack hoagies to our airport - kind of throws the body off), found a low-key pub, and then back to our room for a good night's sleep. And were fine the next AM. It did help that we had been in Bath prior and knew our way around. We are now pushing 70, we do not sleep on planes but are able to effectively disengage and sort of snooze for much of the flight. Yes, your flight isa longer, this will take more effort.

We actually find that the return to the west is more difficult as our bodies get used to functioning on a schedule where they should instead be asleep here, and this takes us a few days to re-set. I hope this is helpful!

@Larry- As we are not traveling until 2023 I was using a current available flight plan as an estimate. On this hypothetical flight we would arrive at 1:15 London time. I have not begun checking coach schedules from Heathrow yet, the 12:45 isn't the last coach, is it?

My goal is to not have us arriving first thing in the morning, as that would make for a very, very long day. One of our adult daughters can not sleep on a plane. She traveled to the UK during college to study abroad for a semester. They left WA state at 6:00am, layover in Denver, layover in New York, arrived in Dublin early in the morning and they had a full day of activities. She barely slept the night before the trip, so was pretty much awake for at least 48 hours. Of course this led to her getting a bit confused at one stop when she went to use the restroom, she came back out and the whole group was gone, prompting the professor to decide the buddy system would be a good idea during the trip.

Thank you all for the wonderful responses!

I made 3 trips to London in the past 4 years, from SFO non-stop to arrive at 7 am the next day. The first 2 times I stayed upright, outdoors and busy with very little sleep on the plane, until around 4 pm. Too droopy to do much else than grab a sandwich and head to the room, stayed up til around 8 or so. Awake very early the next day, normal 11 pm bedtime. The 3rd time, just recently, again I was fine with the first day until around 4 pm, but my normal sleep pattern didn't return until the 3rd night...not terrible to be wide awake at 5 am, just read for a while & drank coffee.

Your plan sounds reasonable, but be prepared to possibly be very sleepy very suddenly--if I stopped moving and sat for a bit I could tell when it's time to head to the room, too tired to think at all. You have nothing major planned aside from arriving and getting to Bath via coach, so you'll quickly find out how well you do with jet lag and not miss out on anything.

Current schedule is less than the choices pre-pandemic, but this can come back. Currently the direct bus to Bath out of the LHR bus station runs at 11:50 (you won't make this on current fllight schedules) and 14:20. Perfectly acceptable to go into one of the food shops in LHR 2 (you will arrive and immigrate in T5, and there is a free ride to T2/3), and hang out over your food.

We sometimes will start staying up later and later the few days before flying east. And we may eat late--before getting on our flight out.

We usually get into our hotel mid afternoon, take a couple of hours sleep and hit the streets--not going far off. Then it's back to bed and waking up on their time.

Coming back west, we try to nap on the plane. But we're mostly running on adrenaline by the time we get home. What's a downer is sitting in an airport waiting 3-4 hours for a connecting flight.

You have been given lots of good advice above. As to your question “Will I be sleep deprived?” The answer is a qualified yes, because even if you can sleep on the flight, the night is very short. But that may or may not affect you. It does not seem to affect us badly.

I cannot tell which airline you are considering—it sounds like the British Airways flight 48, which we have taken almost yearly since 2010 (not in 2020 our 2021, of course). But maybe it is another, like Delta. Regardless, I really like that schedule, as I actually do sleep on the plane. I confess that we fly in business class in lie-flat seats (I work hard on earning miles so we can do this), and that helps.

On our outbound flight to Europe, we generally fly onward from Heathrow to our first destination (Spain, Switzerland, Italy, etc.) so the timing would be comparable to your flight plus transfer to Bath. We generally arrive there around 5 pm local time (maybe with a short nap on the plane), check in, and get outside for a walk and a light dinner. Then to bed around 9 - 10 pm local time. We wake up the next morning refreshed and ready to go, feeling good.

But. . . . There is still the time change to handle. Your body need some time to re-set the body clock by 8 hours. So we both wake up in the middle of the night for the first few nights, then adjust.

I actually only feel “jet lag” after the homebound flight. I feel “spaced-out” for days. The westbound flights to Seattle are generally daytime flights, so what you get is a really long day, but you may or may not sleep. I do, my husband does not. But it still takes a few days to adjust the body clock. It was hard when I was still working—falling asleep at my desk in early afternoon—-but now that we are retired I can succumb to the need for a nap without guilt.

For me coming home is the hard part. My last trip to Asia, when I came home i hit a point where I basically read a book and watched some Netflix all night because I had no urge to sleep, then I went to work and did not even get tired until around noon, drank coffee and forced myself to keep going on my regular routine until 9pm and then went to bed...just saying plan for having some serious jet lag on your return trip, it happens to most people. All in all if you have a week, try to do at least one additional city.

You said that this is your first time to Europe. Have you taken any long flights anywhere else? If so, even if it wasn't a redeye, you might have experienced your ability to relax on a flight. Were you eager and therefore, "keyed-up"? Were you able to relax and perhaps take a short nap? Have you had any routines that you follow on longer flights? If not, you might be so excited that it will be hard to sleep. One thing is for sure, if you worry about jet lag, it won't help! You can't force yourself to sleep. Employ whatever helps you relax at home that you can also do on a plane--reading? TV? At some point, unplug, close your eyes, put in earplugs, wear an eye mask and just daydream without the pressure of needing to fall asleep. Resting is almost as good as sleeping. Bon Voyage!

So many helpful responses, thank you so much.

Daylight saving time change does not bother me.
I have flown coast to coast a few times, as well as shorther (under 4 hours) flights. The hum of the aircraft can lull me into a pretty drowsy state, so I may be able to sleep. I generally sleep 7-8 hours a night.
Our time in Bath will just be the walking about and having dinner, no museums or sightseeing other than what we see from the sidewalks. We will be renting a car the next day to begin the driving part of our trip.
The flight plan I have based this on was a Virgin Atlantic flight, serviced by Delta.

From all you have said, it sounds like our current plan should work.

Mary Ellen, thank you for posting this! I've wondered about the jet lag situation. We're due to land in London at 8:30 am from a journey that originates at 7:00 am the previous day, that requires us to be up at 4:00 am on departure day We'll take a coach to Bath that arrives at 12:30. We have tickets for the Roman Baths and Fashion Museum that afternoon. I scheduled these to keep us up and walking until dinner, after which we want to hit a pub for a pint or 2, then to bed early. I've wondered if we'll be in a fog all afternoon, and maybe I shouldn't have purchased those tickets to see the sights. We're locked in now!
We've never been on an all night flight, so I don't know if we'll be able to sleep on the plane. The good thing is our final leg departs Toronto at 8:30 pm and we'll likely be exhausted when we get on the plane for our 7 hour flight to London. I tried to be strategic in planning, but the best layed plans don't always work out.

I have wondered and worried about jetlag too! I would love to hear any experiences of trying to start adjusting your body's sleep cycle in the week leading up to a trip. Hubby and I will be traveling in March 2023, going to Paris & London. Our first time in Europe.

Sleep as much as you can the day before and ON the flight, skip most of the food, movies and TV on the flight. No alcohol !

Kclark0637 -- Probably should read all of the postings here. I covered that idea of time shifting pretty well in my May 16th, 1.53 pm posting. Works best if you start about four weeks before. How much time do you want to shift?

Business travelers have long relied on the prescription sleeping aid Ambien to help deal with the circadian disruptions caused by multiple time zone shifts - one of whom is Rick Steves himself per some of his recent blog postings.

The adjustment procedure I've heard of involved starting to move up your sleep and wake time 1/2-1 hour per day for a week, as well as your meal times. No caffeine or alcohol. Never tried it, as it seems too disruptive with everyday life. And not practical if you're working.

My fear, with Ambien, is that it won't take effect until just before landing.

We find a non stop flight from west coast to Europe gives us time to fall asleep. If we fly to Europe from the east coast, there isn’t enough time to fall asleep especially with dinner service. So if we fly from east coast, we take a daytime flight to London which lands around 7:30pm. Dinner, then to bed, resulting in no jet lag.

MaryEllen:
That is my very favorite flight to London, and I have done it many times. My routine on the plane is to have a cocktail, dinner with wine, then put the noise canceling headphones on, and get some sleep (prob 4-5 hrs). I know that avoiding alcohol is recommended by many - but it works for me. I often go to the airport straight from work. I also pay extra for a window seat assignment ahead of time instead of waiting for check-in. Normally I like an aisle, but having the window seat gives you the bulkhead to lean against, and you don't have anyone stepping over you to use the lavatory. When I arrive, I take the tube to my hotel near Russell Sq., check-in, have a cup of tea, get out for a walk and dinner, then to bed at about 10pm. No jet lag for me when I do this.

The idea is to avoid sitting for too long. My tube trip takes about an hour? I think I'd be slightly worried about sitting for longer than that, but you will be excited and there will be things to look out the window at, which should help.

Of course YMMV.

For me, jet lag is worse coming home than going. I have been home since late Saturday night and am still wiped out. I have a glass of wine and motion sickness pill on the flight to Europe and manage to sleep a little and recover from jet lag within a day or two. Everyone is different.

Lots of good input here already.

Our first time to fly to Europe was a Newark to Shannon, Ireland flight. By the time dinner on the flight was served, there was time for barely three hours sleep before breakfast was served. Lesson learned: wherever our destination in Europe, we eat dinner in the airport prior to boarding. Once on the plane I put on my sunglasses and try to sleep.

I'm one of those unfortunates who has trouble sleeping on a plane, no matter how much medication I take, and then I can't take too much or there is a hangover-effect the next day. If I'm lucky, I'll catch two or three hours sleep, or lots of naps. Once I actually logged five hours! Yay!

Other unforeseen factors can affect any chance of sleep on a long haul flight in spite of the best laid plans, like the time our seats were in front of the emergency exit row, so our seats did not recline. We had planned better, but the plane itself was switched and seat configuration was different (yes, that happens). Sleeping in a sitting up position was not possible, at all, even for my husband who generally can sleep on a plane. We were both zombies upon landing in Germany.

Then there was the Trans-Atlantic flight home from Europe where the guy sitting behind me was playing some sort of video game on the screen that was in the back of my own seat's headrest. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap for hours on end. Right behind my head. Nope, not one minute of sleep on that 7-hour flight. ;-p

Jet lag is a bear. It takes me three to five days to recover, no matter which direction I have flown.

If you can sleep 4-5 hours on the plane, you'll be mostly fine the next day. A little tired, but mostly fine. The problem is that it's difficult to sleep for 4-5 hours on a plane unless you're in business class.

I once fell asleep on a park bench in Lyon, I was so out of it. I also once was so tired that I was nauseous on the 2nd evening.

But I've also had a few trips where I felt very little.

Next time we are away I might try the nap on arrival. I'm usually too excited to not head straight out.

Nothing we have tried works. We even used the Time Shifter App this last trip. AND flew business, and still managed to be exhausted.

Hello Mary Ellen,
You have received great information about jet lag.
Going different places affects me differently. Oddly, Australia is the easiest because the trip including a layover and plane change is about 24 hours from Dallas. Coming back from Sydney to Dallas, on the clock we arrived 10 minutes before we left. LOL
The hardest for us is Hawaii. Repeating 5 hours is tiring for us.
Europe falls in between. I think your plan is fine. That bus ride may be arduous though. Your hotel should be ready when you get there. A good shower and change of clothes does wonders.
Things that help the flight for me are sound deadening earphones, a jacket in case the flight is cold, a neck pillow (mine is inflatable so it doesn’t take up much room), and some music on my phone and maybe a movie. Stay hydrated on the plane.
Enjoy the planning phase of your trip. That’s almost as much fun as the trip.
Best regards,
Bioboy

I always suffer jetlag despite trying all the recommendations to minimise it. Coming back to the UK from the US throws me out for days. I fly business or first so I do manage some sleep but that doesn't provide any benefit. I usually nod off in the taxi on the way home which is one of the main reasons I don't advocate driving straight after a long haul flight.

My first overseas travel experience was flying from Vancouver, Canada to London. I couldn't sleep on the plane so I was awake for close to 24 hours. I slept a little when I arrived at London and then woke up and went to Harrods department store. I ate but soon felt overwhelmingly tired. Back at my hotel, I threw up, crawled into bed and slept for 24 hours straight! I was 18 fit and healthy. It didn't matter I was wiped out.

I am going to be flying to London in September. By the way flights out of Vancouver are much cheaper than flying out of Seattle. This time I am going to start adjusting to London time in the week leading up to my flight. Each day I will wake up earlier. On the day that I fly out I will wake up at 3am. I am going to take some sleep aids for the flight and hope for the best.

Yes, you are being too optimistic.

@Cerastez: That sounds rough, I'm sorry you are so done in by jet lag when you travel. It sounds like the majority of people here have not had such an extreme reaction, so I remain optimistic. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for the tip about Vancouver flights. I will do some checking to see if the added travel, hotel night, and parking costs outweigh any savings.

My Parents and I just arrived London on the nonstop Virgin flight from San Francisco. We arrived at 11:50 50 minutes early. I slept for 6 hours. Upon arriving at the hotel I took a hot bath for 45 minutes and a nap for 30. No jetlag! I am drinking water and will have dinner soon.

I have melatonin and will take it tonight. What helps is to arrive around noon and use the first afternoon to watch sports and then take an evening stroll.

Hi,

Keep in mind not everyone gets jet lag. I did a flight from Seattle to London once (2017) as the flight originated from SFO. I had a five hour lay-over in Sea-Tac. I didn't like the Seattle leg of the flight, it wasn't long enough. True, I still slept, as I always do flying out of SFO non-stop to London or Paris, or Frankfurt, the only cities I choose to land but a longer flight would have been better.

I don't get jet lag upon landing, which usually is between 9 to 10 AM, having slept at least 6 hours. Landing in the morning is best. (shorter line at Immigration) . I much rather prefer flying out of SFO on a longer 11 hour overnight non-stop flight since I can count on sleeping at least 6 hours, if not a bit more.

With that I am fit to to go once clearing out of the airport and heading for the train station using public transport. The next thing is to have a hot meal at the train station and relax.

No problem functioning normally on the first day whether I stay in town or board a train for the next 2-6 hours.

The key to avoiding jet lag is sleeping, plain and simple, on the flight. Therefore, avoid, the temptation of the movies, no music, and other tech distractions. No pills of any kind, sleep aids, etc. unless so ordered by the doc. . You may want to resist that cup of coffee. I don't, it has no effect on preventing my falling asleep. After the flight meal I focus on falling asleep and going back to sleep whenever I wake up . Concentrate on sleeping.

Bottom line....You're not being too optimistic regarding your schedule after landing...very doable. Most likely, the B&B only allows check-in starting at 3 PM.

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Here's the most successful approach I've taken to decrease the effects of jet lag when flying to Europe (from Texas in my case). If you're a coffee drinker, it might work for you.

For the two weeks before the trip, I abstain from caffeine. Wean off the first few days, then no caffeine until the flight. Doing that makes the cup of coffee with the final meal on the flight (breakfast in my case) really pack a punch. Once off the plane I get another cup of coffee or caffeinated beverage. This approach is not a jet lag cure, but it has helped me get through the first afternoon with better clarity.

Enjoy your trip!
Mary

This would require a hotel night in NYC, but this year we took a day flight to London for the first time and it made a huge difference in how we felt the next day.

We fly to NYC or Boston, stay overnight at airport, and take a 7:30am flight to London. We have dinner when we arrive and go to bed. Little or no jet lag the next day.

Try to fly on one of the newer widebodies - either the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350. They both feature higher atmospheric pressure and better humidity, which are two factors that may mitigate jet lag. People also say to avoid caffeine and alcohol during the trip and stay hydrated. Several years ago we flew Virgin Atlantic 787 from Los Angeles to Heathrow, then train on to Bath. It was an evening flight, arriving LHR around 3 PM. I had the mildest case of jet lag I've ever experienced - very little effect the next day. On a more recent flight on an Air New Zealand 777 to London, then with BA on to Berlin, jet lag more pronounced the next day.

It looks like Virgin Atlantic flies the 787 from Seattle in the afternoon. The Delta flight in the evening is on a 767 - I'd go for the 787 flight - for both the plane and the Virgin Atlantic experience.

It’s different for everyone. I’m not bothered with jet lag which is great.

The effects coming back last longer (4-5 days) for us, but thats OK because it just means we get up earlier than normal, and we can deal with that.

I had a bit of a rough time going to London about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't able to sleep on the longer flight from Detroit to London so by 1:00 pm I was miserable and tired. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel, after getting in to London at 7:00 am. My first mistake was booking an early morning arrival time. We then walked around the neighborhood but then went back to the hotel to ask if we could sit in their lobby until check in at 3 pm. They were nice and they even had our room ready about 45 minutes early. Took a nap, waited for my son to arrive and was ready to go out exploring later that evening.

Coming back was worse. We were traveling for many hours coming back. I still feel tired and we got back on Monday. I did sleep off and on on the long flight but it was sporatic.

"It's different for everyone." How very true. After the 11 hour flight from SFO, neither the Mrs. nor I got jet lag, not affected by it at all. I attribute my functioning normally and regularly upon arrival to sleeping at least six hours on the flight. She didn't sleep at all, just watched movies, couldn't fall asleep as i did, but still was ready to go when we arrived in Paris normal and functioning.

Hi Maryellen, Congrats on your first trip to the UK. Lots to see, do and experience. You will find out how your body responds to the time changes and jet lag and do whatever you judge is best for you. I used to live in a town that was about 85 miles outside of London. If I fly economy I have a very hard time falling asleep on the flight and rarely do. Hopefully you will be able to get some sleep on your flight. ( Now that I have retired and am older I splurge on business tickets for long overseas flights so I can lay flat and hopefully get some sleep.) As soon as I would arrive at LHR I would catch a coach for a two to three hour bus ride. Usually it was a long walk from the arrival gate to immigration to the coach pick up area and that walk can help to invigorate you. I tried to keep myself awake the rest of the arrival day but I know others like a short nap. I always found myself momentarily nodding off on those bus rides as jet lag would catch up with me. But once at my destination I would stay up, and follow the new time scheme. Sometimes I’d sleep the whole night through, sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night for a few hours. Sometimes that would happen for several nights in a row until my body adjusted to the time change. I always read that you should keep yourself well hydrated and active to help reduce jet lag.

I don't think you can avoid jetlag completely, but getting up earlier and earlier a couple of weeks before you leave seems to help a bit. No caffeine on the airplane, try to sleep, set your watch to UK time as you take off... the usual things that are basic common sense but we forget because we are too excited to travel.

I did better going over than coming back. My advice is to have everything packed one to two days in advance of trip - no worrying the night before or staying up late. On the plane I use my noise cancelling headphones and put on white noise, take a Benadryl and try to sleep a little. Upon arrival, after checking in and dropping bags off at hotel go for a walk. Also, on the flight over I change my watch to European time. That seems to help me adjust.

First if yo are flying economy, you may not be able to sleep on the plane. I found it helped to have an audiobook to at least relax me and get me to doze.

I bet at least one of you will fall asleep on the bus to Bath. Perfectly normal but at least have one person awake and alert. What I do after checking into the hotel is waking around the neighborhood-note the shops and if I need to get any groceries or toiletries to buy them at their time. Don't be like I was and think you can go on a walking tour or see a play the first night. I was a zombie and don't remember either. After dinner what I usually do is plan for the next day-get out my outfits, turn on the telly and have a relaxing night in and go to sleep at a decent hour so you will be refreshed.

My jet lag never lasted more than a day