Jet lag: is shortening the day (US=>Europe) worse or the inverse

For me, flying eastward (advancing the clock) is always more problematic. I don't have much problems keeping myself awake extra hours so that I can wake up at the "right" time next morning. However, for me it is much more difficult to just go to bed early and fall asleep. Therefore, because I'm not keen on taking any sleeping pill, my strategy usually involves waking up far earlier in US (already tired for a short sleep) the day of the flight, as to be very tired by the time of boarding the intercontinental flight and then trying to sleep a bit in the airplane. Flying for Europe to US, usually is much easier: just arrive in US and push myself not to sleep until very late from my "European biological clock".

Flying east is more difficult than flying west, which is a very commonly noted by travelers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_lag#Direction_of_travel These days, I just roll with it and have stopped trying to prevent it. The only advice I can give is to immediately get back on the proper time zone and try to sleep on the plane heading east as much as possible. When you arrive, you will be exhausted and it will likely be morning. Go to bed at the end of day (8pm at the earliest). Your goal is to be completely and utterly exhausted by the end of the day so that you fall asleep, hard, when you are supposed to. Also, bring use an eye-mask because the different in light can throw you off.

I find it easier to adjust to the new time when traveling West to East. I don't sleep much on planes, so if we catch an afternoon flight from California, arrive in Europe first thing in the morning, we just muscle through the day sightseeing, and do our best to stay awake until around 9PM. At that point we are so exhausted, that after 8-10 hours of sleep, we are refreshed and acclimated for day 2. Flying East to West seems to hit me harder. Even a day or two after being home and going to work, by 3:00 -4:00 pm I'm ready for a nap.
I think the difference may have more to do with vacation energy vs. work energy (after a vacation). But I think the key is, no mater how tired you are, don't take that afternoon nap.

I'm like Karen, I find it much harder going west. It might be partially because when I'm going west, I'm headed home, and therefore, back to "real life". Going over, I have the anticipation of the trip and the excitement of being there to get me through the first day.

Totally agree with above two posts and the one about taking a nap. On one trip, we made mistake of taking a short nap, biggest mistake and never did it again. Just try to get some exercise, sunshine and early to bed, the nap in our opinion is disaster. We have learned to set our watch to local time of where we are arriving as soon as we get on plane and that does help us.

Although I am miserable upon arrival due to no sleep on the plane, by day 2, I am fine. However, returning to the states after having a super long day of travel (early departure from Europe and having late evening arrival in the states), I find it much more difficult to adapt to coming home. I am wrecked for days, if not weeks, with extreme fatigue and find it hard to get back into my usual routine. It takes me weeks to get back to the gym. It even takes me weeks to fully un-pack my bag. I really just become a slacker when I get home. Maybe more mental than anything but my body shuts down when I come home.

Totally agree with Karen and Gail. After an overnight flight to Europe, as long as we can push ourselves to stay awake and not go to bed until a reasonably normal hour (even if a little earlier than we would at home), we almost always wake up adjusted to the new time and ready to go. On the other hand, upon returning home it takes me about a week to fully recover. Probably all due to the same reasons the prior posters give.

We typically depart about sunrise for trips to Europe, therefore must get up in the middle of the night for transport and check-in considerations. Very little to no sleep on the plane....no drugs nor significant booze (both ways). By arrival in Europe the following morning or a bit later depending on connections, we are quite tired. We stay awake and solder on if possible, but sometimes a modest afternoon nap creeps in. Early to bed and then the next day is not too bad. Thereafter, we're in good shape. Returning home is consistently and considerably more difficult and it takes several or more days to adjust.

I am totally fine when in heading to Europe - never sleep on the plane so am tired when I arrive but sleep well that night and then am fine. Like others, it's awful for me (and my husband) when we return. Who knows why for sure. We just returned from 2 weeks in England a week ago, and we're still not back on track. I think my husband picked up a bug of some sort on the plane. I just can't get my sleep back to normal even though it's been a week since we've been home. Normally things get back on track a bit sooner, but not this time. I just try to keep my days normal for the time zone I'm in and hope for the best.

Flying east is more difficult for me, although I can bear it reasonably with an overnight flight with a couple hours sleep. Forcing myself to stay awake is much easier than trying to make myself fall asleep.
Of course, I am a shift worker and rarely suffer from jet lag.

I definitely feel the worst when I get off the plane flying east to Europe. I may or may not take a short nap, then I go to bed early and am generally fine the next day. Coming home it seems much easier, but I do find myself dragging in the afternoons for a week or so.

My hsuband and I use "No Jet Lag" pills from Magellan Travel.com We have successfully used them for five years now, even to Australia. You can get them on-line from Magellan.com. You just take one pill on departure, one every two hours and one on landing. If you fall asleep on the plank, you can go up to four hours between pills. Magellan offers a money back guarantee, if you are not satisfied.

Flying east is easier for me. I usually adjust by my second or third day in Europe. It takes about two weeks when I come back to the U.S. to adjust. By which I mean staying awake until 10 pm or being wide awake at 5:00am.

I'm with those who say it is easier to fly to Europe than to fly home. Going over, I take some Unisom to sleep on the plane and I am usually able to stay up to around 8 or 9 PM local time the first day and take another Unisom to sleep through the first night. After that, I'm on their time schedule. Coming home, usually requires being up in the neighborhood of 20-23 hours, depending upon connections. I don't usually sleep on the plane since I just woke up a few hours before after a full night's sleep. Then I have to be awake in any airport connections so as not to miss the connecting flights. Then it takes me several days to get back on schedule. I usually wake up at 4AM or so for several days, which is hard when you have to go back to work. I guess it might be different if it was more than an 5-6 hour difference, but for Europe that is my experience.

It depends a lot on how many time zones you traverse and what time you fly ( day or night). Coming from the West coast, we have a 9-hour time change when flying to the continent. We take a flight that departs around 6 pm somwe fly at night. We arrive in London around noon local time, and change there for a flight to our final destination, arriving around 5 pm. We basically have a shortened night and a shortened day. We generally have no trouble staying up for a walk and late dinner, heading to bed around 10 local time. Next day we are fine, no effects at all. Coming back, we depart mid-morning and connect at Heathrow for a mid-afternoon flight. This one follows the sun west and it never gets dark. We end up with a really long day. We stay up until normal bedtime when we get home. Even with a bit of sleep on the plane, our body clocks are off for a few days after. So short answer is, going east is easy for us, but I think the timing of the flights helps a lot with that.

I think James may have hit the nail on the head. Going over to Europe from the east coast I lose an entire night's sleep. As someone commented here: "I definitely feel the worst when I get off the plane flying east to Europe." But one night's sleep and I'm ready to go and adjusted to the time. Coming back it's a long day but no sleep is lost, yet it takes me a week to fully recover. For several days I wake up far too early, and for a week I'm flagging by mid-afternoon at the latest.

Psychological? Hmm. I would have guessed it would be worse going to Europe given all the many details needing attention before departing, getting up in the middle of the night, along with the nagging issue of making all connections timely. Upon return....easy. The reverse happens to be true in my case and it's not due to the lack of experience.

Coming from the West Coast it is a long day of travel to get to Europe. I have always had 2 connecting flights traveling West to East. There is a 9 hour time difference. But...I always have an easier time going to Europe for probably the reason James states. I am on vacation. I am there to have fun. We land early morning and just keep moving until bedtime. The next day we are good to go. Coming home after a busy trip I am tired. It is hard to get back into my work/home routine for a week. Sometimes longer.

To settle this, I think we need opinions from those who travel regularly for business. They wouldn't have the anticipation high that the rest of us have. Seems planning a trip is often more fun that the actual trip: "Vacationers reported a higher degree of pre-trip happiness, compared to non-vacationers, possibly because they are anticipating their holiday." The entire article: http://www.inquisitr.com/244017/didnt-get-away-for-memorial-day-vacations-dont-make-you-happier-study-finds/

I don't know that it is psychological; physiological maybe, but not psychological. I agree with those who bring up lack of sleep. Coming home, I essentially lose a night of sleep and continue to wake up early - making the cycle slower to fade. Also, in reference to the trip being behind you instead of in front - again I think that is a physiological thing. We usually travel pretty hard when in Europe (as opposed to laying around like a week at the beach). So it makes sense that not only do I lose a night of sleep, but my body is just plain tired and needs more rest due to a week or more of 15+ hour days. Even though I'm not "working" I don't sit around at all either - or not as much anyway.

We have no trouble at all going over ( east); a little disruption inn schedule after coming home. Like Lola I think it helps to time your flights; a short night going over does not seem to upset us at all. We hit the ground running the first day. And once againnI have to take issue with the No Jet Lag pills. This is a homeopathic remedy, based on the questionable theory. Read about homeopathy on Wikipedia; the article is good. The basic theory is that a minute dose of something that would make you sick will treat those same symptoms. So, for example, one if the ingredients is ipecac, which in a normal dose of one ounce will make you throw up. But in No Jet Lag it is diluted so much there is no way it will make you do that, so it is supposed to cure you. The dilution of all the ingredients is 30C, which means that the active ingredient ( like ipecac) is diluted down to one in ten to the minus sixty power. (10 superscript -60). Think about that. At that dilution, it is unlikely there is even one molecule of the "active ingredient" left in most of the pills. The so-called "scientific evidence" posted on the website is a single double-blind study involving nineteen people who flew from New Zealand. If you know anything about science and statistical analysis you will recognize that this is meaningless. As are anecdotal stories like " I took it and it worked!". You can find lots more people who have never taken it and also have not experienced significant jet lag. Just my personal rant against so-called remedies that just take your money.

My husband and I just returned on memorial day from our second trip to Netherlands and we both find that coming home is more difficult. Going to Europe you have some excitement kicking in and if you can keep yourself away your first day til 9 pm or so you will have a great night of sleep and wake refreshed. Coming home last night we stayed away til nin pm and both woke up at 4 AM. . .finally we both got up and will try to make the day with no nap. Drink lots and lots of water. I take one tylonol pm on my way to Europe so that I can get at leat 4 hours of sleep on the plane. If I take more I feel too groggy that first day. Stay away from alcohol and try to stay outside when you get there. Stay awake til 9 and you'll be good to go the rest of your time there.

I have more trouble coming home than going over, probably for the reason most people said. I can't sleep on the planes on the way over, so my first day in Europe, I am exhausted, but still happy to be there. I force myself to stay up until 9 or so, and then sleep well all night. By the 2nd day I am fine. Coming home, I am up too early every day and completely exhausted by mid afternoon. This lasts for about a week. It definitely has to do with being easier to adjust when I am distracted by the fun of the trip, and harder to adjust at home with no distractions other than returning to work, which is exhausting in itself.

I have a lot more trouble coming back to the U.S. In Europe jetlag lasts a day and a night, but at home I'll have it for a week or 10 days. One of my friends in Germany said that jetlag is worse for him when he returns to Germany from the U.S., so I do wonder if there's something psychological going on for both of us - the excitement of the trip is over and it's back to real life.

For me flying to Europe is tougher. It's hard to get good sleep on the plane because it's not comfortable and my body isn't ready for bed (plus it's usually still daylight). Without that sleep, I'm essentially staying up nearly two full days. On the way back I can watch the in-flight movies. I'm arriving in the afternoon, so I can stay up a few more hours, go to bed a little early, and get a good night's sleep. I'm usually pretty functional by the next day. Which is a good thing because I'm usually going to work.

Flying to Europe is tough the first day. We Take a two hour nap because we can't sleep on the plane and I don't want To take a sleep aid. It has always been a problem coming back. I feel ill the first few days, and have to crash around 3 or 4 pm. I wake at odd hours and very early, but still try to exercise i.e. walk at the park, unpack in first days, and try to keep hydrated. I get over jet lag faster on the other side, though I want To crash at times in the first day or two, but on this side of the pond, it takes about a week. I don't think this is psychological because I usually want to
Get right back to regular life the following day. We returned on Tuesday after being up 24 hours and every evening I have to nap for an hour or two.

Perhaps there is a psychological component for some folks, but my experience is that flying west is always worse for me. We travel all over the world, not just east to Europe, and the westerly direction is always hard. Going TO Japan is just as bad as coming HOME from Europe. Flight time is almost exactly the same 9 to 10 hrs. Conversely, flying TO Europe is easier for me, as is coming home from Asia.

Flying west for me is worse too, possibly psychological since flying west is usually going back home. I wonder if it makes a difference if you are a night or a morning person, we're both morning people. For us, we get to our location, stay outside the first day and are usually good until we get back home, then it takes us a few days to realign.