Overcoming jet lag

[muchado]

I thought this would be the best forum to ask for tips and advice even though we will not be coming from the UK. We will be flying from continental Europe into Orlando and are planning an 8 day (6-7 days at the parks) trip to WDW. This will be our first trip to Disney. Two adults, two kids, 3 and 5. We're American and will be headed "home" after Orlando. I am very concerned about the jet lag especially for the kids. We plan to arrive in Orlando and hit the ground running. So, we will head to our WDW resort and go to the parks the next day. Is this doable or will we have cranky kids?
FWIW, it takes my kids 3-4 days to get their sleep patterns right when we visit the US. But they usually do fine with activities during the day. However, this is a very different trip and I realize sensory stimulation will be at its peak.
Any tips or suggestions?

 

[2Tiggies]

Kids adjust so much better than we do. The outbound is easier on the body.

I follow two rules with crossing time zones:
(1) Clock
(2) Food

From the time we board our trans Atlantic flight, we set our watches and do things according to the time zone we are going to. Again, less issue going over but imperative on the return. I tend not to eat dinner at 2 am at home so I don't eat dinner on the return flight, however we have a good meal before we leave, as close to dinner time (UK time) as possible.

It is possible to trick your body into the new time zone in advance, but it doesn't come without a bit of effort.

The idea with the outbound journey is to resist the urge to go to bed as soon as you arrive, unless the local time is close enough to what would not be a ridiculously early night by your normal standards. Obviously there is nothing wrong with waking up very early on your first day, as most of us do, but there is a difference between waking at 2 am and 5 am!

On the return is where it gets a bit tougher. No sleeping during the day. Eat lunch (and the type of food you'd normally eat for lunch) at lunch time and have an early dinner. After 6.30 pm we are free to go to bed if we so wish.

Having done many trans-continental trips through my life, and having done it the right way and the wrong way, this is the only way we do it now and I always go back to work the day after we land. Straight back into the routine is very useful. The times we have suffered terribly have always been the times I've ignored my own rules.

 

[Benchley]

We've taken our son to wow twice now. Once when 2 and again when 4. We have kept him going on the flight over to the USA with a mid flight nap? This was about 3pm GMAT, 11am est. he then kept glint until 18.00 est which would be his normal bedtime in the uk. On both occasions he slept until 4am the first night. I got up either him and left my husband sleeping. My son and I had a great time exploring the hotel and I got done fantastic photos minus guests! By two days in we were all acclimatised and in routine?
Coming home he slept once the meal had finished and continued until the lights came back up on the plane. He then slept for the 3 houses in the car and went straight back into routine.
I have to say he adapted far quicker than both my husband and I!

 

[Fommt2]

We really suffered from jet lag when we went in feb. My DD 10,7,3 were all up at about 330 on the first morning and were a bit cranky the first and 2nd day but a mid afternoon nap on the 3rd and they were fine, so my advise would be to take it slow the first day, go back to your room for a nap and that should help.
Coming home I have no advise :-( it took my 4 days of using matchsticks at work to get over it.

 

[wayneg]

Never had much problem going out to US. We just stay awake as long as poss the first night. Easier to do when flying indirect and not landing until 7-8pm. A bit harder when flying direct (as we are next month) landing mid afternoon you then have a tendency to go to bed earlier.
When we went with our God daughter she was hyper, didn't want to sleep anyway. I think it was about midnight local time she eventually went to sleep, no problems then, if you go to sleep at say 9pm you will be up at silly o'clock.

Coming home we get anything from no jet lag to a week of it. Different every time.

 

[Kath2003]

Even ignoring the jet lag, you're looking at a 20-24 hour day with the flight in the way out there. You'd be superman not be tired. Take it easy on the first day

 

[chmurf]

so my advise would be to take it slow the first day, go back to your room for a nap and that should help.

That might not be a good idea.

taking a nap in the afternoon, like 2 or 3ish (orlando time), when your body is not adjusted yet, means that your body "thinks" it's 7 or 8ish (UK time) and that it's not a nap but an early "bed time" at home.

That's one of the way to delay the jet lag adjustment by a few days.

It might be best to do a full day, and then going to bed rather early (8 or 9pm orlando time) on your first full day.

That should leave you fully adjusted by the start of your 2nd full day.

It's easier to go for a nap in the afternoon at the start of your vacations (smaller kids still need it, but adults should try and stay awake) but napping on the first full day doesn't allow the body to switch to FL time.
A nap in the afternoon during the stay is not a problem. It's only a problem on the first couple of days, because the body doesn't understand the difference between a nap in the afternoon and going to bed early for the night.

 

[Elise79]

Our DD will be 6 on our next trip but we have been transatlantic a lot with her and never had her up before 5am - it helps that it is still dark outside at that time in Orlando!

My rules are no one goes to bed before their usual time - so 8pm for DD and 10pm for us.
On arrival we have a snack although I know we won't be hungry enough for a whole meal a little snack stops you waking from hunger in the middle of the night.

We make sure to a couple of hours down time on the first afternoon then normal bedtimes again that night and we are usually good to go

With DD I find she still needs a nap some days as we tend to park open and then Go out in the evening for the fireworks which means she is very late to bed. As she will never sleep in past 8 the only way to stop her getting over tired is to let her nap during the day

 

[flortlebap]

I agree totally about food and setting your watch. I adjusted so much better when I set my watch on the plane!

For us, we have a short nap on the way back then stay up until normal time. It's more important to set your alarm early on the way back or you end up sleeping til midday and jet lag will really get you.

On the way out we just stay up as late as possible and get up around 6am, then have a short mid afternoon break. We've never had any real jetlag to speak of doing it that way (except on our NY trip in March - indirect flights so no sleep on the return leg and a long wait to transfer, then we got home too late to nap - nearly killed me lol).

Oh and the kids very quickly adjusted - they were falling asleep in the taxi at 3pm US time but soon got their second wind when they saw the hotel pool! They managed to stay up until 8:30 Orlando time and they had a strict 7pm bedtime routine at home at the time.

 

[muchado]

Thank you so much for all the helpful tips. I have never done the food switch although we always follow the local time schedule. Seems like this will work if we follow it carefully.
Thanks again.

 

[pickers1982]

Try not to stress too much is my tip. Relaz and it wont be an issue.

Took our two year old in feb, had a bite to eat when we arrived then bed and we all woke up normal time. Way back we had a connecing flight and just went to bed a but earlier than normal( we all slept well on the flight, and are youngster slept at his normal nap time in his buggy in the airport)

Sometimes i think if you stressabout it all it makes your body clock anticipate problems. I m probably wrong!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

we never have any problem with jet lag when flying to the US.
It's on the way back from the US that we're totally wasted for a few weeks.

But flying to the US is easy for us and we're able to hit the ground running in the parks.

we usually arrive in the afternoon, go to the parks in the evening and then start again first thing in the morning. Without problem.

However, when the kids were little, we would go back to the hotel each afternoon for them to rest before continuing - but that was more because of the heat than jet lag.

 

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

I agree food is fed the way to go. My dd has done the flight at 6 months, 18 mths, 2.5 years and 3.5 years and always eats about 4-5hrs apart (breakfast 7am, lunch 12pm, dinner 4.30pm) so all we do is give her an extra dinner and that seems to do the trick! She wakes a little earlier than normal on the first day (around 5/6am) but so do we but by day 3 we are all running us time. For us the tougher days are coming back to uk time! That takes a few more days to adjust

 

[gillybeaaan]

I don't seem to remember much jet lag upon my arrival in 2012. I think staying up late-ish on our first night (about 11) must have helped because I was able to sleep right on through to 9 the next day! In my opinion I'd try and keep to as normal a routine as possible!

It's flying from the US to the UK that really killed me though, I was a zombie for a week after that one!

 

[scoobydooby]

If anyone can answer the coming home question I'm ready. Have been back 6 days now and still not right. Which is why I am still reading these boards at 1.10am......!!!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

If anyone can answer the coming home question I'm ready. Have been back 6 days now and still not right. Which is why I am still reading these boards at 1.10am......!!!!!

each trip is different for me - there have been some that have taken me 3 weeks to get back to feeling normal again (whatever normal is for me )

too late for this trip of yours, but a doctor friend of mine takes something.
I have to ask him the next time i see him.
He says that it completely eliminates jet lag.
I don't like taking anything, so i didn't get the name from him.

But the next time i see him, i will (he's a friend and also our family doc).

 

[irenep]

each trip is different for me - there have been some that have taken me 3 weeks to get back to feeling normal again (whatever normal is for me )

too late for this trip of yours, but a doctor friend of mine takes something.
I have to ask him the next time i see him.
He says that it completely eliminates jet lag.
I don't like taking anything, so i didn't get the name from him.

But the next time i see him, i will (he's a friend and also our family doc).

I bought Melatonin 5mg tablets a couple of years ago while over there as they are not sold here (AFAIK). It is a sleep hormone - I take one at bedtime for a few days and sleep like a log with minimal jet-lag.

 

[2Tiggies]

If anyone can answer the coming home question I'm ready. Have been back 6 days now and still not right. Which is why I am still reading these boards at 1.10am......!!!!!

Apparently flying on the Dreamliner solves all those problems

 

[disneyholic family]

I bought Melatonin 5mg tablets a couple of years ago while over there as they are not sold here (AFAIK). It is a sleep hormone - I take one at bedtime for a few days and sleep like a log with minimal jet-lag.

that might be it... possibly....it makes sense it would be that.
i'll check with him to see what he takes..