Help with jet lag given this flight schedule

Here is a good article on tips with dealing with jetlag - I hope it helps!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/jet-lag-hacks-tips_n_5232811.html

It's a good idea to set your watch ahead as soon as you get on the plane. Hence, I'll be taking off at 11 p.m., not 5 p.m.
I find it very helpful not to think about what time it is back home. For example, when I land in Munich at 7:15 a.m., I don't think to myself--it's really 1:15 a.m. in the States. I usually stop at a cafe in the airport and have coffee and a light breakfast and then get a cab to the hotel.
Of course, it's too early to check in, but I can store my luggage, sit in the lobby and read the paper, perhaps with another coffee.
When the room is ready, I do what 90% of the folks say not to do--I take a one-hour nap.
Then I get myself settled in, have an early dinner and go to bed.
When I wake up in the morning at 7 or so, I feel perfectly acclimated and working well on European time.
It always works for me. But, as I said, try not to think in terms of what time it is "back home."

I do exactly what Joan does- I take an afternoon nap and a shower and feel much better. I also take a Benadryl for a night or two, just to avoid waking up in the night. Even if you're not a usual napper, refreshing your body and clothes will help.

The worst jet lag I ever had was almost 30 years ago, when I was 24. We hit the street running and didn't stop for a few days, then BOOM! Jet lag hit like a ton of bricks. It really put me under for about a day and a half. I'd much rather take it easy the first day and feel better the rest of the trip.

Thank you for the link!

Joan, good advice about disregarding U.S. time. It will be a struggle to not wonder if the kids got to school on time, etc., but it's out of my hands anyway.

Karen, when do you take Benadryl? Before the trip, or the first couple nights after you've arrived?

Had the same experience in my 20s...I landed in Paris and just kept going until I found myself literally crying from exhaustion. I'm not even sure how long I'd been awake!

I have a few general tips, I have taken flights with similar times to yours.

Start living on Italian time once you get checked in to the airport, if not before. So it's 1PM in DC? No, it's 7 in Italy. Mentally call your lunch dinner. Eat in JFK if you're hungry then try to sleep as soon as you can on your JFK-Venice flight. 8:30PM is 2:30AM and you should be asleep! Never think about what time it is at home until it's absolutely necessary (calling someone, business hours). You are in Italy once you get to the airport. I think the mindset is a big part.

Stay hydrated and don't drink alcohol on the plane or the airport. Alcohol makes you tired, and the last thing you need is another reason to be tired.

But arrival day will be tiring nonetheless. Don't plan anything difficult but be sure to be outside, in the sun - drop your bags at the hotel, go for a walk, enjoy the ambiance, get coffee. Walk, get sunshine. Eat lunch when you arrive in the city. Take a short nap when you can get into your room (so nap 3-4 or something) then be sure to go back out no matter what. Going to bed for the night at 4 is not going to help anything. Eat dinner, go to bed anytime after 9PM. Get up at normal time the next morning.

My worst jet lag was when my plane arrived in Madrid at 5AM. In Spain at that time of year (fall), sunrise wasn't until 8 or so. So those3 hours of wandering around in the quiet dark was killer. Your 11 AM arrival is helpful in this way.

Everyone has their system often developed over time. We have tried most of them. We need to shift about eights hours. We to do a little time shifting the prior two weeks. The goal is to shift three to four hours by simply getting up earlier and going to bed earlier and shifting meal times. Works better now that we are retired. We actually start our European day on the day of departure. Up at maybe 3, 4 am, meals on European time, very earlier to the airport, and a nice meal at the airport well prior to departure. Once on the plane we take the first 30 to settle in and get as comfortable as possible. Then it is ear plugs and eye shades and totally ignore all of the plane activities including meals, movies, etc. And we are pretty tired given that we have been up since about 3am. We get what sleep we can, not the best. When the plane starts awaking up about an hour or so prior to landing, we participate. Try to freshen up a bit, eat whatever passes for breakfast. One on the ground we try to stay outside and walking. No riding in buses or any enclosed space that can be avoided. Around 3pm, will take a nap with an alarm clock set for two hours max. We normally wake up around an hour and half, refresh a bit, and hit the street. Will catch a normal dinner around 8 pm and back to bed around 10pm. The next day, perhaps a touch sluggish but by the second day we are adjusted. It is a bit complicated but it works well for us.

For us the keys appear to be a little time shifting, running the departure day on the time schedule where we land, and the nap.

Good luck.

I have followed Frank's approach, although not as rigorously as he does, since reading about it on this forum a few years ago. It works for me.

Try going from the West coast! Last time the jet lag wrecked me for the first week. I plan on staying outside all day and not going to sleep until 11 the first night although I don't know if I'll make it that long. I also plan on taking Ambien the first night or two. I'll try to sleep on the plane and wake up around 9am Europe time. With all that I know it just takes me a few days to adjust.
We are ending our trip in Paris this time since we started in Paris last time and never even saw the city at night.

I appreciate these responses! Frank's approach looks very helpful. My kids indirectly dictate my bedtime for the most part, but I will at least try to get up around 3 or 4 the day I leave. I never even thought of avoiding enclosed spaces, so that's a great tip.

I do appreciate that I'm traveling from the East Coast--sorry it's even more complicated for you West Coast travelers.

Yes to Frank's approach. No caffeine the day before and day of travel. I put the earpugs in as soon as the plane takes off, skip the food and drinks, until morning. If I take a long nap on arrival, I will be awake at 3:00AM and stuggle to sleep the next three nights.

Try to get some sleep on the plane if at all possible (I typically get between 1-2 hours max because I have great trouble sleeping upright). An inflatable neck pillow helps; without it, I'd get zero sleep. When you arrive in Europe and are settled in the hotel (or your bags held until your room is ready), get outside into the daylight and start walking. Keep active throughout the day until after you've had dinner, then hit the sack. Realizing that everyone's unique and has his/her own biological clock, I am fortunate that mine "re-sets" pretty quickly with this regime and without any change in pre-trip lifestyle. However, the toughest time for me in the days to follow is usually about 3:00 pm, but that's a good time for a coffee and a 'jause' (snack).

You might want to go elsewhere on this web site to see an article by RS on jet lag: "Home>Travel Tips>Health and Hygiene>
Conquering Jet Lag" by Rick Steves. Lots of good ideas. My wife and I have gone to Europe every summer for 12 of the last 13 years, flying from Seattle. We take a RS tour every summer having taken 12 so far and leaving in June for Paris and RS tour #13. We almost always fly out in the afternoon arriving in Europe in the morning. We have different ways to deal with JL. When we arrive at our final destination in Europe and get checked into our B&B / hotel, my wife heads out for a long walk while I go to bed for several hours getting up in time for late lunch/early dinner. As much as I have read about not going right to bed, I crashed two years in a row after arriving in Europe and trying to stay up and go walking. Now, with a few hours sleep, I am rested and free of JL. I am only able to cat-nap on that 9 1/2 hour flight and do not take any pills while my wife stays awake and reads. Good luck and happy travels.

This strategy works for me....
I never sleep on the plane. I read books, watch movies, and take walks, making sure to drink plenty of water throughout the flight. Since you arrive at 11 in the morning you'll probably get to your hotel around 1 or 1:30. Find a place to eat a quick, stand-up lunch - not too leisurely or you'll start getting sleepy! Plan activities for the afternoon that will keep you moving - walk through an outdoor area of the city. Visit a church that is not high on your list but will give you something to look at and think about. Around 5:30 or 6, have a light dinner. After that, head to your hotel and go to bed. I always try to be in bed by 7:30 or 8 my first night in Europe. I am usually so tired by this time that I have no trouble sleeping through the night. For me, I always wake up the next morning and the jet lag is pretty-much gone. Works for me!
I've tried taking a nap in the afternoon on the first day but can't ever get back out of bed after my alarm goes off and I end up waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning, unable to go back to sleep.
That's my two-cents!

TMJ, you asked when I take a Benadryl. I take it just like I do at home-right before bed. It doesn't help me get to sleep, just keeps me drowsy enough to go back to sleep when I get up in the night to pee. I don't take it all the time at home. Sometimes I get "too tired" and can't sleep as well, and I need to re-set my sleep. So this works for me when traveling. I've never tried Ambien.

In the past I've had an easier time with jet lag by sleeping 1-2 hours on the plane, but on my last 2 trips I haven't been able to sleep at all which makes me a zombie by the time I arrive. I nap for a couple hours, take a walk in the late afternoon/early evening, and yes, by the time midnight rolls around I'm wide awake. Jet lag doesn't bother me that much because it goes away in a couple days and I plan for it by allowing the day of arrival to be a wash (sleeping and staying in my hotel room for most of the day). My tip is to listen to your body. If you're so out of it you can barely hold a conversation, take a nap. If you feel good and want to walk around, do that.

Hi,

Flying from the east coast to Europe has not been my experience. My flights always depart from the west coast, almost always from SFO on the non-stop flight of 10 to 11 hrs. You can adjust to that time duration. If there is a choice, I take an afternoon or late afternoon departure to Frankfurt or Paris CDG or London LHR with the arrival anywhere from 0900 to noon local time. To combat jet lag or to avoid it, I make sure I sleep since the flight is going into night. Don't take any pills. The more sleep I get on the flight, the better I'll feel upon arrival, ie no jet lag. At best I've slept close to 7 hrs going over, at worst maybe three. Sleeping is the key to feeling sharp and alert when you land in the morning and function.

I try to nap a bit on the plane, and I find that planning my arrival in Europe to be in the mid to late afternoon helps a lot--I have enough energy to get to my hotel and freshen up, then head out for a bit of sight-seeing and food before bed, usually by 9 or 10 I'm ready to crash. Coming home again I arrive in early afternoon and so far that's worked well for me, back to normal in a day.

Do your best to be well rested the few days leading up to your flight. If I am tired at the start of the trip, the time change always hits me harder. I also agree with avoiding alcohol on the flight.

Also make sure you drink plenty of water on the plane. The air is dry and you want to be plenty hydrated, especially when you contend with jet lag. Dehydration makes everything worse.

For my last few trips, I have both taken a nap on arrival and slogged through. What has worked best for me (leaving from the east coast):
Pay the price (if you can) to go Business class or at least Economy plus. I eat in the airport (not on the plane) with 1-2 drinks and pee immediately before I board. As soon as I get on the plane and settled in, I prepare to sleep. I take a full bottle of water and drink it all before I settle down to sleep (or attempt to). I actually take off my bra and take off my shoes. I have NEVER been able to sleep while wearing a bra. Prior to arrival, I drink coffee (something I never do at home). I check in and go out. On the one occasion I did nap, I set the alarm for 1 hour and forced myself to get out and about. I am in bed early (for me) and up again the next day without a problem. Maybe I don't have as much of a problem as most because I am a night owl at home. I find it much more difficult to get up early in the US but not a problem in Europe. But for the ladies, try the bra thing... it really works.

I think sometimes people confuse "travel fatique" with "jet lag".
I also think the point about dehydration is a good one.. my problem is I need to sleep on plane( western Canada flights usually arrive in morning in Paris.. and if I don't get some sleep on plane I can be up more then 20 plus hours straight.. impossible to then keep going first day) Since I want to avoid dehydration I try and drink a lot of water on plane.. unfortunately this means numerous bathroom trips for me, which there fore means I get little sleep.

I have tried everything.

I now pop a pill once on plane and aim to get at least 5 hours of sleep.

I do not sleep or nap on day of arrival. I usually end up in bed earilier then normal.. but not freakishly so .. I try to stay up till 9 or 930.
Still.. I am usually up at 3 or 4 in morning for first day or so.

Keep snacks in room ,, my tummy is looking for food at odd times.

TMJ,

Everyone experiences jet lag differently so you won't know how it will affect you till you get there.

Try not to dwell on how you felt 30 years ago...

I also fly from the west coast so it's a long trek...

• I try to be well rested before my trip-- avoid packing the night before.

• I try to sleep in the plane but this usually does not happen.

• I avoid caffeine & alcohol and stay hydrated by drinking water in the plane.

• When we arrive to our destination, we eat a light meal or a snack & walk around a bit, but if too tired, we just take a nap (couple of hours) then get up, shower, walk to dinner. After dinner, walk around some more, eat a gelato, then we go back to hotel & go to bed early.

Enjoy your trip!