First Day Advice

The flights I've taken typically have landed between 7:00 - 10:00 in the morning. I try to at least rest on the plane if I can't sleep during what would be night in Europe. Once we arrive we just keep moving. Staying outdoors in the sunlight is the best. We stay awake until 9:00 or 10:00 that night and then get a good nights sleep. The next day we are good to go. We travel from the west coast so we have a bigger time difference.

Hi Guy,

As soon as you board the plane, change your watches, mentally change to that time & don't think about "at home it's now _o'clock". Try to sleep for half of the flight, if possible. Stay hydrated on the plane - water, juice vs. soda, alcohol. We purchase water or orange juice before boarding, so we can have fluids whenever we're thirsty. The best advice I can give is when you arrive in Paris, fight any urge to take a nap, and walk, walk, walk outside vs. going to a museum. In Paris, this will be easy - areas near the gardens, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and all types of neighborhoods await! By the time it's late evening, you'll be ready to sleep. You may wake up in the middle of the night the first few nights, but you'll go back to sleep.

I would try to sleep for at least half the flight if I could, or all but the last 2-3 hours. But I can never sleep at all on a flight! Some can, some can't. I always try and fail. But it is okay. Your body clock is going to be messed up the first day either way. On the first day, I try to stay up until around 9:00pm. I plan for an easy day which usually just includes checking into my hotel, walking the area around my hotel, or some other neighbor area that is nice to see, and getting dinner. I set my watch to the local time before I get off the plane. I usually sleep well the first night because I am so tired from not sleeping on the overnight flight. By the second day, for me everything is fine.

I don't sleep well on planes so if arriving after an overnight flight I try to check into the hotel room early and take about a 2 to 3 hour nap, then freshen up, get outside and walk around. I think we're all different, and there's no magic cure. Expect to feel like crud that first day, expect to feel disoriented, expect to question what you've done, expect that starting on the second day it will all be worth it! :)

Do what feels right for you and your family!

What works for me is this...I try to arrive at my destination sometime in the early afternoon, just as you plan to do. I make my way to my hotel, drop my bags, and don't stop moving. I can't sleep on planes so if I stop and just sit down for a few minutes, I'll fall asleep and that'll just wreck the first few days. What I do is go outside, walk around, and get my bearings on the immediate area. As soon as I am able I eat dinner early, preferably around 4 or 5 o'clock, go back to my hotel room, and go to bed by 7. I have no trouble sleeping through the night and I usually awaken the next morning feeling pretty good. Jet lag usually doesn't get me if I adhere to this schedule. I might feel a little wonky in the afternoon the next day but I'm usually completely over it by day 3. Good luck! Different things work for different people. The jet lag is usually horrible coming back home though...that's the thing I haven't figured out yet!

Different strategies work for different folks. Here is what works for me. I always set my watch to the destination time as soon as I board the plane. During the flight I drink as much water as I can, and I avoid caffeine and alcohol. I try to sleep as much as possible on the plane. An eye mask makes it easier to sleep. When I arrive at my destination, I hit the ground running full steam -- no naps and no slowing down until I go to bed at around 9 or 10 pm. So far, cross my fingers, I have never had a problem with jet lag.

I make the trip about 3 times a year. I have learned to cope with it pretty well. I generally don't sleep on the plane unless I get tanked. I only get tanked if the entertainment system isn't functional (about 1 in 5 flights). Assuming a functioning entertainment system we get to our accommodations, shower, change into non-stinky clothing and then head out the door. The shower and clean clothing tricks the body for about half a day then we collapse into bed right after an early dinner. We wake the next morning well adjusted to the time and feeling good. Since all of our trips change somewhere in Europe sometimes we get lucky and find a private club with showers. In that case we clean up before the last leg (usually less than 3 hours) then we hit it hard when we land...............until we collapse.

One more thing ... I recall that a friend of mine who would travel frequently to visit her family in Bangladesh, 12 time zones away, always told me to avoid naps when you reach your destination. She said one would adjust more quickly by staying up and moving until the normal bedtime in the new time zone.

At some point, we do like one of the posters and take a 2 hour nap. Mind you, I feel like crap at first, but then we manage for several more hours. The last couple of times we actually kept walking around until evening, had dinner, and then collapsed. No other way to put it. I have started taking benedryl to help me sleep through that first night.

Coming back is awful!!! Takes me a week to recover. I'm not depressed to be home, and I look forward to seeing the dogs, so that's not it.

Most here have learned from trial and error what works best for us, as you'll notice from all the different contradicting advice. Some people sleep great on the plane and feel great when they arrive. Some don't and feel great. Some sleep and still get clobbered by jet lag. Some don't sleep and also get clobbered by get lag. If you've never flown overseas, it really isn't possible to predict how you'll react, other than you'll probably feel tired well before bedtime in your arrival city.

Personally, I always take medication to help me sleep on the flight. The sleep I get on the plane has little effect on the onset of jetlag at the destination. I sleep mainly to break up the boredom of sitting on a plane for 8 hours or so. I know from experience what dose to take at what time so that I'm well awake before the plane lands. If you try the medication route, MAKE SURE you give it a trial run in the safety of your own home before going "live" on an airplane. And absolutely do not mix it with alcohol.

One problem with kids that age is that their circadian rhythms are shifting, and they may not be ready to sleep on the plane, and will be zombies when you get there. My girls were the same age as yours when we went to London. We all took a single Tylenol PM when we got on the plane. They had taken it before for allergies-it's the same med as Benadryl. It made us all sleepy enough to get several hours of sleep on the plane.

Everyone was excited and ready to go when we arrived, but by the time we got to our hotel, we were winding back down. During lunch, glassy eyed silence. Back at the hotel we all took naps. We set an alarm, and I made us all get up after 90 minutes. I showered. The girls were mean and grumpy, but once we got outside, they got excited about their surroundings and were fine. We didn't do anything strenuous-walked around, caught a few buses, and had an early dinner. Nobody was going to have any trouble falling asleep, but we all took another sleep aid so that we'd stay asleep. The next day, and for the rest of the trip, everyone was good. No further signs of jet lag.

This worked for us and our kids. I wouldn't give them meds that they hadn't used in the past. I've used this same method without the kids along. I couldn't survive that first day without a nap. If your family doesn't nap much in daily life, maybe you won't need one. Our family excels at napping.

I'm so jealous of those of you who can snooze on a plane! Not a talent I've acquired yet.

Like some of the rest of you, we set our watches to the time it'll be when we arrive, do a brief freshen-up after check-in, go find a big cup of coffee, and then hit the streets - although without an agenda other than getting some cash. If we keep moving, we're usually OK until an early-ish bedtime. Now and again we've even gotten a second wind and ended up staying up later than we thought possible!

The one thing we would never do on the first day is schedule something that demands our jet-lagged attention - like a museum - and nothing indoors unless the weather is ridiculously terrible. Fresh air helps keeps the eyes open!

First Trip! Okay, if your question is really about jet lag, you should start working on that a few days before the "first day."

Read up about jet lag and what to do about it. You will learn that it relates to your circadian clock, not to the amount of sleep you get (or don't) on the plane (though sleeping is nice too).

Sleeping does not reset your circadian clock. Neither does sleep deprivation.

3 popular strategies for resetting your circadian clock: Diet, exposure to light, and melatonin. Personally I have found all of these strategies to be useful; I follow all of them. You can start these 3 days before your trip. Stop the caffeine a week before. You might want to talk about jet lag with your MD.

To answer your specific questions: On the plane, eschew all the airline activities such as movie and meals (you're not missing anything, bring a light carb snack). Instead put on your sleep mask and ear plugs and pretend to sleep. (With melatonin, you actually may sleep a little, but that is a bonus.)

First day, eat a protein-heavy breakfast (I bring a sandwich) and expose yourselves to lots of natural light. Weather permitting, walk around outside a lot. Sunshine and fresh air, or at least direct daylight.

Resist the impulse to sleep during the day. You will hit a point where you are weirdly, absurdly tired. If you've done the above, however, this will pass.

Plan a 10 PM bed time and sleep well.

You people starting from the East Coast have an easier time than we on the West Coast do, with our 8 or 9 hour time change. Still, we manage quite well, with an overnight flight that Lands in London at noon. We sleep on the plane as much as possible. On landing, we go to the hotel, shower And change clothes, and go outside for a long walk. If hungry for lunch, we eat at an outdoor cafe, something light. Then dinner around 7 local time and to bed at 9:00 pm. Next day we are usually ready to hit the ground running.

Hi,

I never flew directly from the east coast. True, you do learn by hit and miss as to what is effective to avoid jet lag. Coming from the Calif. I count on a direct 10-11 hr flight to CDG, where I've landed anywhere from 1100 to 1300 local time. I try to fall asleep or doze once airborne, such as get in an hour of sleep before dinner arrives. Once I finish dinner (don't rush that either), I work on falling asleep, forget the movie or any other music entertainment, concentrate on going to sleep. It varies. If I am lucky, I'll get over 6 hrs before landing at CDG or FRA. If not, then it's usually about 4hrs of good sleep, the rest dozing. The best is to land local time between 0900 and 1100, the earlier the better.

Everyone's body reacts differently, but for me your arrival time is perfect; I've usually napped a bit coming from San Francisco (serious sleep eludes me on a plane) and if you hit the ground running you'll be fine. For me that means getting to the hotel, tidying up and then heading right back out to explore. I might wander a bit and then find dinner, or if there's a museum nearby I might knock that off my list. I never plan anything big the day of arrival and generally not the first full day, either. For example, I'll arrive in Vienna around 2 and plan to probably take the Ringtram and maybe see a smaller museum, have a light dinner and normal early bedtime so I can be perky for the next day and some serious exploring.

I like Adam's "pretend to sleep" advice. Keep your eyes closed or covered as much as possible. Also-try to lower your body temperature. Let yourself get cold, like you do naturally in the middle of the night. Then you can cover back up. It will make you drowsier.

DO NOT LOOK AT THE TIME! Even when you set your time to the destination time, your brain will start converting back and forth, and how long you have to sleep, will you ever get to sleep, etc. Just don't look.

All great advice... but what works for one person does not work for someone else. But oftentimes I have found with teens is they can usually sleep most anytime.... and wakeup any time things are exciting enough. I would not make a plan, just play it by ear...but do try to get on new time zone as soon as possible.

You've already received some great advice from the previous posters. At least one person mentioned ear plugs....make sure your whole family has those. If you are seated behind a baby that cries the entire trip, you will be doomed without ear plugs. Airline headsets can sort of be a substitute, but it is hard to wear them and wiggle around to sleep, shifting often just to find a comfortable spot.
Make sure everyone has a comfy pillow and/or the U-shaped blow-up neck deals. I compress two small pillows using the vacuum type bags to board the plane, then fluff them once on, then put my own (old) very soft pillowcase around them, and then also stick in the airline standard issue pillow to get to what is a typical size pillow, which I like to lean into while I try to sleep. Your kids might want to just carry a full-size pillow as their carry on.....I see that all the time on planes.
Also, try to select seats where your family can 'lean' on one another or the side of the plane(window seat) while trying to sleep. And, it is always more comfortable if the family members next to one another keep the same bathroom break schedule and then try not to wake each other up when napping. Drink lots of water and avoid Cokes, coffee, etc.
Agree with the other posters that coming home is when the real jet lag kicks in. It takes me a minimum of 4 days to feel like myself upon return, sometimes up to a week for really long flights (like Australia)..
If your flight is direct from the east coast to Paris, it should be a piece of cake. What wears us out so much is the waiting to depart from Nashville, then flying to the East coast (and we try to avoid tight connections on European flights)..then waiting for that connection....THAT makes a long day and even longer coming home......I usually start melting in Newark, Kennedy, Atlanta or Chicago. I have friends who usually try to spend the night in their connector city, just to minimize jet lag......but I want so badly to get home by that time :)
You all will LOVE Paris....what lucky kids you have to experience that at such a young age!!

The only advice that I have that is different than the other great suggestions is go on a city bike tour. We didn't sleep on the plane,just rested our eyes, nor did we nap. Getting out in the fresh air doing something physical was perfect! 3:30 to 6:30 bike riding, a little dinner,to bed around 9:00, all was good!

I am going the opposite way, but since I can't sleep on a plane, I just pretend it is like college life, stay up all night and cram, then go to work or class the next day. It is what it is. I watch movies the whole way, catching up on all the films I have missed, and track the flight across the ocean. Once I land in the US, I end up going to bed around 22:00 or so. Coming back, same thing, though sometimes I take a short nap a few hours after I have arrived, and then go to bed about 21:00. There have been lots of times that I was called into work on the same day that I arrived. Awful, but one does what one has to do.

Either direction, it takes a few days to adjust, but coffee is helpful and I have never felt really out of it, just tired. Maybe it helps that I can switch and be either a morning person or a night person, not just one or the other?

Hello Guy. Going to Europe via an overnight flight from North America continent : the worst problem is lack of sleep. I think 1:00 PM is a bad time for arriving at Paris airport. If people arrive there at 1:00 PM and go to a hotel in Paris and sleep there in the afternoon, they probably will not be able to sleep that night. I suggest : sleep as much as you can in the airplane at night. What I do - if the airplane departs from an airport in the U.S.A. in the early evening, I eat a big meal (including pasta) in the airport before the flight. In the airplane, I inform the flight attendant that I do not want to receive dinner. I put wax ear plugs in my ears (to shut out noise), and wear eye shades (I like Rick Steves' sleep shades). Two hours into the flight, if I did not sleep I swallow a medicinal herb such as kava kava which causes a person to feel drowsy. I do not look at the movie, I do not listen to music, I do not drink coffee or alcohol. Arriving at my destination at Europe, I do not walk a long distance, I avoid walking up many stairs, that first day. I will be asleep at 9:00 PM or earlier.

Guy,
I think the best thing is to get any kind of sleep on the plane. I wish I could take Benadryl but it makes me stay awake instead of sleep. I have tried Melatonin also and it does not do much for me either. I usually get short naps on the plane and it helps. When I arrive at my destination I check into the hotel and then venture out in the city and keep walking. I do not recommend going to a museum and unless it keeps you on your feet. You really need the bright lights to keep you going for the day. It usually takes me a few days to get a good nights sleep. You will just have to try what you need to do to stay awake. I do not recommend a nap when you arrive at all you will be awake for hours in the middle of the night. Enjoy your trip to Paris.

Judy

Hi Guy,
We just returned this week from our first trip to Europe with our children of similar age to yours (9, 12,&15). We really encouraged sleep on the plane but it did not work out and the kids did not get solid sleep - although we did make them turn off the entertainment system after the first movie and dinner, put in the earplugs, covered up, and pretended it was bedtime - about 2.5 hours into the flight. We flew into Rome and arrived in the morning. We went to the hotel and freshened up then got outside exploring as soon as possible. We planned a "park day" and also checked out our neighborhood. We also got some gelato and lunch. By 3:30 they were done. We went against all advice and went back to the hotel for a 2 hour rest - this included showers and we were careful to set alarms - we were out exploring again by 5:45. We all slept between an hour and hour and a half. We were all able to get up and going after our rest and stayed up until about 9:30. The kids did much better then the adults at sleeping through the night and awaking at a regular time in the new time zone. Both my husband and I awoke in the early morning but we both went back to sleep.

We had a busy day 2 planned and survived fine from early morning until late at night. We thought we were in the clear. By day 3 we were extremely tired and after a big tour in the morning we did take another afternoon rest for a couple of hours. This took away from our time and we did not get to see everything that we planned but I was worried the kids would get sick or would fall apart later in our trip (22 days). This proved to be good for our family and we didn't have any more issues during the trip, even with overpacked days, early mornings, and late nights.

I am only sharing my experience because you may have to be flexible. We read everything that we could and we were resolved that we were going to sleep on the plane, stay awake and moving day one, and be good to go on our adventure. It just didn't work out as planned - but it did work out. We "rested" on the plane but did not really sleep, we took unexpected naps that first day, and we canceled some plans on the afternoon of day 3 for some preemptive down time -- not in the plans but what we needed. The overall experience was better then I expected and seemed easier then now. We have been home for a day and a half and we are all struggling - eating and sleeping are all much harder for us on our return, then when we went, Enjoy your trip - you will have a wonderful time.

My experience matches Travelmom's almost exactly, except for the wrinkle that I find it different on every trip. But one important point in her post is worth emphasizing. If you take a nap, or when you go to sleep your first night, be SURE to set an alarm! You may think you're only taking a one-hour nap, or that you will awaken at 8 AM, but your body may have other plans.

Another reason to set an alarm-if I feel like I won't wake up when I need to, then I can't get to sleep at all.

1. Land
2. Go about your business
3. Go to sleep when the natives do
4. Wake up when the natives do

Repeat 2 - 4 for the duration.

Agree with Ed.

We usually get an hour or two sleep on the plane. Set your watches and brain to the destination time when you board. We've flown overnight from NJ/NY to Munich many times. We land, usually drive a few hours to our first stop, shower, relax for an hour or so before heading out for the rest of the day and usually get to sleep around 10pm. More often than not, we awake before 7am and all is fine from there on. I find the trip home a bit tougher for some reason. Maybe because the trip is over and we're heading back to work soon!

I suggest doing what your body says. If you feel great when you arrive, proceed with your visit and hit the sack early (20 hr. Paris time). If you feel tired when you arrive, rest for a while--but just a short while--then proceed with your visit getting to bed later ( 23:00 hr or so Paris time).

While I've never tried it, you could set all the timepieces you use ahead six hours 48 hours before you leave, and live on Paris time before you depart; then you'll be set when you get on the ground in Paris (I am joking of course). Have a great trip, don’t worry about jet lag.

When I arrive at my departure gate, I reset my watch to local time at my destination. From then on, I think only local time there. I don't spend time pondering what time it is at home. On the plane over, when it becomes 9 pm, local time in Europe. I try to get some sleep. I don't think, "How can I sleep, it's only 3pm my time?" I will take a Tylenol PM. Last time I forgot to pack some and still managed to get some sleep.

Like Ed, when I get to Europe I stay busy until a normal bed time. The sooner you adjust to a normal schedule the better off you are.

Any sleep you can get on the plane is better than no sleep. You have no option other than sitting in your seat awake or sitting in your seat asleep - try to keep your awake times for when you can use them productively (same goes for being awake in the middle of the night in Europe, stuck in your hotel room). The other bonus, for me, is the plane ride is the worst part of the trip. The more I sleep, the shorter the trip seems.

We leave on Tuesday from the West Coast to Heathrow then switching planes to Paris. Our approach is that we try to sleep as much as we can on the plane (and will probably achieve 3-4 hours of fitful sleep). No matter what, we don't lie down when we arrive. We drop the bags and go out for a walk and stay up until at least 9 p.m. We aren't perfect the next day, but pretty close to it.

The first time we went, we laid down for a nap and woke up around 2 a.m. all set to go.