Celia

I think the best way to avoid jet lag is to arrive at your destination late in the day.

My husband and I, after lots of experimentation, now do it like this: we take a daytime flight from Chicago to Europe. We arrive in Europe at about 9 or 10 PM European time. It's only 6 PM or so to our bodies, so after eating dinner, we take an Ambien, and sleep all night. The next day we wake up and find ourselves on European time.

I know people say "but you're losing a whole day of your European trip!" But I've found that the first day in Europe after spending a night awake on a plane is lost anyway, and it takes 2 or 3 days to get adjusted after that. So for me, anyway, a daytime flight works best.

burnhamski

I never ever sleep (ok maybe an hour) on overnites, wine and/or sleep aids don't help much, even though I'm often pulling an all-niter the nite before to pack etc. Our arrival in Europe is always am - we do drag ourselves thru that morning, check-in as early as possible (try to make arrangements ahead with your hotel), and take a mid/late afernooon nap (an hour or two). It's really easy to fall asleep then, and though it feels awful for the first 5 minutes when the alarm goes off, it's just enough to give us the energy needed to shower, do a little more sightseeing, and have dinner at a a "normal" local time - 8-ish for us first nite, and turn in around 11. We get a good nites sleep, and we hit the ground running the next day.

It's worked for us with young children, and with our son now 20.

I wish Ambien worked for me, but it doesn't, so the first day nap gets us all on Europe time. (Coming home,however is always torture - it takes me 2 weeks to get back to NY time!) Good luck!

Thomarob

I am try to arrive in Europe as early as possible in the morning. I'm a night person and a 6am arrival is midnight back home, and I'm still awake at that time anyway. So while I'm basically pulling an all-nighter, the excitement and adrenaline of being there gets me through the first day.

Pegontheroad

I have difficulty sleeping on flights, so I bring out the big guns. I have never tried Ambien, but I use Benadryl, earplugs, an eye mask and one of those U-shaped neck pillows. I sometimes take a tranquilizer on plane flights, though I don't use them otherwise.

Since I live in Washingto State, going to Europe is long trip, but if I can get even a couple of hours sleep, I'm usually in pretty good shape when I land.

kenav

I know everyone says - "Don't sleep when you get to Europe". But, the one time my husband and I did, for 2 hours (from 11 AM to 1:00 PM), in Vienna - I was able to stay up til 11:00PM that night and woke up at 7:30 AM the next day, ready to go! Couldn't believe it! A little nap really helped.

Of course, to do this, your room has to be ready when you get there.

FainaAgain

Kenav, me too! I took a short nap around 2 pm in Zurich, and was fine for the rest of vacations.

Coming back... I was sleepwalking for nearly 2 weeks

janeth13

We're taking our first trip to Europe next May. I had a massive DVT/PE two years ago from a foot surgery and am a little worried about the long flight. Do the bigger planes have more leg room? We'll be flying economy though. Any suggestions?? I really want to bring some Ambien but am kind of afraid to stay so still for so long.

kenav

I'd say definitely talk to your doctor about this. If you've already had a problem - that should be dealt with by an expert. Ask him/her all your questions, voice your concerns about sitting too long, or if Ambien is OK for you in this situation. You may need to get up frequently and walk a bit.

Mimar

To janeth13, bigger planes don't have more space between seats. It depends on the airline. Coach on Northwest/KLM and British Air 747s, for example, is quite tight. Go to www.seatguru.com and look at seat pitch.

Consider the new class between coach and business. On British Air it's World Traveler Plus. Definitely more space there for not a lot more money.

Finally, your health is more important than sleeping on one flight. Stay awake and walk around every couple hours or so. Do in-your-seat exercises to keep the blood flowing.

suze

It makes all the difference if you can sleep on the plane, at least for a bit. I have never (and I mean never!) slept on a flight to Europe and I go overnight from the west coast US so always arrive in pretty bad shape. I purposely allow a couple days at the start in one location and with a loose schedule, so I can nap as needed, and get pulled together for the rest of the trip.

janeth13

To Mimar: That was a great site. Thanks so much for the tip. I guess with British Air you have to wait until right before the date we fly to reserve our seats. I definitely see some that are more desirable than others. Thanks again!

carolyn

My doctor likes to travel and can't sleep on planes either. He gave me a freebie seven-pill prescription for Lunesta, and it is my new best friend. I tried one before I left home to be sure it didn't have any bad side effects, took one on the plane and slept four hours, and then took one at bedtime the first night abroad and slept all night. It doesn't have any side effects for me, and I was good to go with no jetlag.

Before that, I found that a two-hour nap on the afternoon of arrival did help me, but I was prone to wake in the early hours and not be able to go back to sleep.