How to Prevent Jet Lag When Traveling to Europe
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JET LAG IS EVERY WORLD TRAVELER'S KRYPTONITE.
I travel between the USA and Europe, on average, three times a year.
There have been so many times where my jet lag has been so bad that I feel like I’m sleepwalking through my first day in Europe.
While I wish that I had some secret medical cure for jet lag, I don't.
What I do have is a ton of lived experience about how to put into practice all of the old, never-changing advice about how to prevent jet lag.
So buckle up and get ready to outsmart jet lag on your next hop across the pond!
How to prevent jet lag when traveling to Europe.
How to Prevent Jet Lag When Traveling to Europe
What Is Jet Lag, Anyway?
Jet lag disorder isn't really one thing, it's more like a collection of symptoms that occur after your body travels multiple time zones without having enough time to adjust.
Your circadian rhythm, or the body's internal clock, is severely thrown out of whack when you rapidly travel across multiple time zones.
Jet lag symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, digestive issues, headaches and ongoing sleep disturbances like insomnia or early waking.
It’s usually worse when you travel eastward, and more severe the more timezones you cross.
Jet lag is usually worse when traveling eastward, to Europe.
There’s an informal formula that helps to figure out how long it will take your body to naturally adjust to a new time zone: simply count the number of time zones that you've crossed in your travels and divide them by 2.
For example, if you're traveling from Los Angeles to Paris, you're going to cross nine time zone. Divide nine by two and that means it'll take four and a half days for your body to naturally adjust to your destination time zone.
Since jet lag is caused by a misalignment between your internal clock and the local time, all the methods for either preventing or remedying it center around getting your body realigned to the local time zone of your destination.
How to Prevent Jet Lag
First things first, I'm going to spoil the surprise and head straight to my last preventing jet lag tip.
STARTING WITH THE END IN MIND IS A GREAT WAY TO GUARANTEE SUCCESS.
I’m spilling it first because it’s something you can do before you even book your flight.
The final piece of advice on how to prevent jet lag when traveling to Europe is to stay up for the entirety of your first day at your destination.
This means no naps, no going to bed super early, none of that. The first day at your destination is an endurance test. If you can stay up during the entirety of this first day, then the rest of your vacation is going to be fine.
What gets people in trouble with jet lag is when they take a long nap on their first day, or they go to bed super early. While it feels like they’re simply giving their body the rest it craves, they often find themselves waking up in the middle of the night feeling like they are starting a new day, and are unable to go back to sleep.
This jet lag-induced insomnia is what you want to avoid.
HERE’S A LITTLE TIP THAT STARTS EVEN BEFORE YOU BOOK YOUR FLIGHT:
Booking a flight with a later departure can help to ease jet lag on your first day in Europe.
When selecting your flights for a trip to Europe, consider these two competing modes of thought.
On the one hand, you want to maximize your time in your new destination. The Itinerary Maximizer mindset, we’ll call it. When this mindset dominates your thinking, you are more likely to choose a flight that is going to arrive early in the morning, landing at 7:30 a.m., for example.
A lot of folks that book this flight do it with the best of intentions. They imagine themselve hitting the ground running, ready to enjoy a full first day of vacation.
But that’s not the reality.
Jet lag comes for us all.
Now consider another mode of thought. We’ll call it the Jet Lag Avoider mindset. If you booked your flight while thinking from this mindset, then your goal is to minimize the amount of time that you have to stay up on your first day at your destination. This means arriving at your destination as close to the local bedtime as possible. Here, you’re more likely to choose a flight that departs from the United States as late as possible, and delivers you to your destination closer the afternoon.
If jet lag is a severe problem that you've dealt with in the past, then thinking from the Jet Lag Avoider mindset is a very small travel itinerary hack that will have a massive impact on reducing your suffering.
My second insider tip for preventing or treating jet lag is to pack yourself a small sleep stash of essentials: an eye mask, ear plugs, and a melatonin supplement.
The eye mask will help you to sleep on the plane, even when full cabin lights are up during dinner service and other points in the flight.
The ear plugs will also help you to block out noise when you're trying to sleep on the flight. If there’s a crying baby on your flight, they instantly pay for themselves.
A melatonin supplement will make it easier to gently drift off to sleep no matter the environment. Five milligrams is usually enough for most people.
In addition to helping you sleep on the plane, consistently using the items in this sleep stash will increase the likelihood that you have a more restful sleep throughout your trip.
And not that you need the reminder, but just in case:
WHY IS GOOD SLEEP ON VACATION SO IMPORTANT?
There's a degree of endurance required for traveling, and this is no different when you visit Europe.
I am personally walking somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand steps a day whenever I visit a European capital like London, Paris, Berlin or Rome.
Sure, it’s fun and exhilarating, but it’s also exhausting!
Use sleep to properly refresh and renew yourself so that you can stay excited and in good spirits for the duration of your trip!
In addition to the above travel hacks, here are the five traditional steps in preventing jet lag when traveling to Europe:
Start Adjusting Your Sleep Schedule Before Your Departure
None of these tips are necessarily new, but I'm going to try to put my own spin on them so that they can be helpful.
These tips aren’t super helpful without the explanation of lived experience, and this first one is a prime example: The number one way to prevent jet lag when traveling to Europe is to start adjusting your sleep schedule before your departure.
Ok, sure, but how exactly does one go about adjusting your sleep schedule before your departure? It's easier said than done.
Here’s what I do:
First, I consider five days before my departure to be my adjustment period.
At the beginning of this period, I evaluate what my average bedtime has been over the past few nights, and then I do a quick calculation to figure out what that bedtime translates to at my European destination.
For example, if I've been going to bed at around 11 p.m. EST at the beginning of this adjustment period, the first thing I'm going to do is calculate that this equates to 5 a.m. CET, or Central European Time. (The East Coast of the USA is six hours behind most of Western Europe.)
The Second step is to figure out when I want my bedtime to fall on my day of departure.
But when should that be?
Your target bedtime for the day of departure should be two hours into your flight.
So take your time of departure (for the transatlantic flight, not any connections) and add two hours.
For example, if your flight is departing from the East Coast of the USA at 6 p.m., then your target bedtime is going to be at 8 p.m. EST.
The third step is to figure out the difference between your average bedtime at the start of your adjustment period and your target bedtime for the day of departure.
If you're rocking an 11 p.m. bedtime the day that your adjustment period starts, and your target bedtime is 8 p.m., that means you've got about three hours to adjust your sleep schedule before departure.
Just multiply the number of hours by 60 minutes, and then divide that overall minute figure by the five days that you have left in your adjustment period. In this example, it comes out to about a 40 minute a night adjustment.
The fourth and final step is to make it happen!
I use the sleep function in the iPhone Health app. Here's a quick explainer video about how you can change your bedtime in the Health app so that it notifies you a little bit before bedtime so that you can unwind, get off your phone, and begin preparing for bedtime. I am a notorious scroller just before bed and this notification helps me to get off social media and put down the phone.
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT LATE DEPARTURES
If your flight has a late departure time, like anything after 10 p.m., then this equation probably isn't going to work for you. Your target bedtime on the day of departure would actually be later than when you’re already going to bed.
That's okay, though.
You should still do your best to adjust your bedtime, but the math is a little different.
In this case, try to adjust yourself back to a bedtime at least one hour before your flight’s departure time.
It sounds counterintuitive, but when you get on the plane you will be ready to go to sleep.
My final tip here: You should actually skip dinner service and go straight to trying to get some sleep.
11 p.m. is already an awkward time to eat, and airplane food is not something to prioritize over your own sleep schedule, trust me.
Eating dinner on the plane, at least in my experience, usually will keep you awake until two hours into the flight.
Stay Hydrated during the Flight
Staying hydrated on a flight is great advice no matter the context, but it's super important on an overnight transatlantic flight.
Remember, the symptoms of jet lag are things like headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and gastrointestinal conditions — all of which will be made less intense if you're well hydrated.
Unfortunately, this does also mean avoiding alcohol and caffeine.
Sleep during your Flight to Europe
I truly believe that it is possible to get halfway decent sleep on a plane, regardless of your fare class.
IS SLEEPING ON A PLANE EASIER IN FIRST CLASS?
Absolutely!
I remember flying in Delta One from JFK to Frankfurt. I laid my head on the pillow in the lie flat seat and *poof*. In what seemed like only a few short moments later, we were landing. That’s the dream. If you’re able to fly first class, do it, but don't resign yourself to bad sleep or no sleep just because you're flying in premium economy or economy.
Remember that sleep stash we packed, a small satchel or cosmetics bag filled with an eye mask, ear plugs, and small bottle of melatonin?
Make sure that’s in your carry-on bag.
Next, decide whether or not you’re going to stay awake for dinner service.
Sleeping on a flight to Europe is better for avoiding jet lag than watching movies.
This is obviously a function of personal appetite, personal choice, and the timing and duration of your flight. But keep in mind that if you’re on a shorter international flight (anything less than eight hours) it's not a bad idea to skip dinner service all together. It allows you to maximize the amount of time that you have to sleep on the plane.
(If you do skip dinner, ask your flight attendant to wake you up right before the pre-landing service, in which they offer coffee and juice along with a breakfast pastry of some sort.)
If you do stay up and eat dinner on the plane, then do your best to try and get some sleep as soon as they collect the plates and trash from dinner.
The flight will actually pass by a lot quicker than you think!
I know a lot of folks who think that they'll watch just one movie and before you know it they can't sleep and they're up the whole flight.
Plan a Jet Lag Buster Right After Arrival
UPON ARRIVAL, SPEND TIME OUTDOORS IN NATURAL SUNLIGHT TO HELP RESET YOUR INTERNAL CLOCK.
About two hours before a flight to Europe lands, the pre-landing service begins. Flight attendants bring around a light breakfast snack and beverages like coffee and juice.
I would recommend enjoying the small breakfast pastry that’s usually included, if only for the psychological adjustment of having a breakfast-like meal at your destination’s breakfast time.
For me, a cup of coffee is also a must during pre-landing service.
I occasionally will buy a bottle of cold brew at the departure airport and keep it in my carry on. It allows me to have an extra dose of caffeine as soon as I step off the plane and begin the walk to customs.
Sunshine is the ultimate jet lag hack: it helps your body’s circadian rhythm adjust to your new location.
Once customs is complete, all baggage has been collected, and the airport has been left behind for your ultimate destination, it's really important to get into the sunshine.
Sunshine will help to adjust your body’s circadian rhythm to your new location.
I REALLY LOVE THE CONCEPT OF A JET LAG BUSTER.
It’s any outdoor, physical activity like a hike or walk that serves to both get you outside and get your body moving.
Opting for a planned event like a walking tour is fine, but listen to your body and don't be opposed to leaving the group or having a seat at an outdoor cafe if you feel the exhaustion overtaking you.
I once came home to Germany from the USA and I could only muster enough energy to go buy lunch and eat it on a park bench in the sunshine. My exhaustion was that bad.
Remember to give yourself grace if that's the condition that you find yourself in.
Because whether you know it or not, as soon as you arrive at your destination, you’ve just begun an endurance marathon.
Avoid Naps & Stay Awake until the Local Bedtime
The number one way to prevent jet lag from ruining your vacation to Europe is to vanquish it on the first day.
YOU DO THIS BY AVOIDING NAPS AND STAYING AWAKE UNTIL THE LOCAL BEDTIME.
Again, this is very easy advice to give, and much more difficult to put into practice.
There have been many, many times where I have been a walking zombie during my first day in Europe.
It’s a horrible feeling, being so desperately tired, but also fighting against the urge to nap because it would ruin my ability to adjust my sleep schedule.
If you need to take naps, absolutely limit them to 30 minutes, max.
Anything more and you are in danger of delaying the inevitable.
Surrounding yourself with external stimuli is a small way to make this first day feel more like an exciting arrival day rather than a groggy-eyed death march. Just be careful not to plan too many activities on this first day. It’s never a good idea to push your body too hard when it's already in a vulnerable state.
In addition to walking out in the sunshine to adjust your internal clock, it's also a good idea to take your meals at the local time.
Mealtimes are just another way to signal to your body what the local time is, so use this to your advantage.
Already Suffering from Jet Lag? Do This Now
If you’re already suffering from jet lag, then you’re wondering what you can do right now to make yourself feel better.
Not to sound like a broken record, but the first thing that you should do is go outside, in the sunshine, and take a short twenty minute walk.
NOT SUNNY WHERE YOU ARE?
It doesn't matter; you still need to be outside. Even dappled sunlight on cloudy or overcast days will help your body adjust to the destination time zone.
Next, try having a small bite to eat.
An outdoor meal can both nourish your body and help to readjust your internal clock.
In my experience, eating a small meal while trying to get over jet lag has always been a way to give yourself a little bit of nourishment, even if it's not in the form of sleep.
Just be careful to not overload your digestive system with a heavy or rich meal.
And finally, if you are absolutely dragging and you can barely keep your eyes open, remember that this state is not uncommon on the first day of arrival in Europe.
Go ahead and take a 30 minute nap, but don't overdo it.
Get up after that 30 minute nap, do a little bit of stretching and then go outside for a walk in the sunshine.
In Closing…
JET LAG IS A FICKLE FRIEND.
When I'm traveling from Europe back to the United States, I kind of love that jet lag gets me waking up earlier than everybody else each morning.
Honestly, it's the only time I've ever felt like an actual morning person, naturally waking up at 5 a.m. before everybody else.
But traveling eastward, jet lag can be a beast.
I've started booking flights that depart as late as possible from the United States so that my arrival into Europe is actually closer to noon or 1:00 p.m., just because I want that first day in Europe to be as short as possible.
I've mentioned getting outside in the sunshine several times. It's really one of the most important things that works!
I’ll leave you with two other tips.
Because we’re human and we get energy from being around other people who make us laugh and smile, I would add any social activity that will take your mind off of how tired you are.
Lastly, imparting the words of wisdom that my father always gives me, no matter the malady, take a hot shower or bath just before bed to relax.
That’s all for now,
Angela 😴