Jet lag after a long flight can be very unsettling for both you and your little ones, and really not the best way to start your holiday off.
Here are some tips on how to ease the effects of jet lag if your holiday spot is on a very different time zone from home.
1. Stay on home time
For time differences of three hours or less, consider keeping yourself and your baby or child on home time. Hotel blackout curtains help with this. Over the course of a week or more, everyone will probably adjust to local time naturally but there’s no need to rush things.
2. Rise at regular hours
As with grown-ups, the thing that most helps babies and kids adjust to the time change is the sunlight. Get everyone up first thing in the morning, try to get them as much daylight as possible, and attempt to have them outside at dusk as well. During night time, try to keep the lights out and the blackout drapes closed.
3. Eat regularly
Offer your child food at local mealtimes, and try to fill them up during the day so that they're not hungry at night. Try to choose healthy, filling options.
4. Stay active
There's no better way to encourage your body to sleep than to wear it out! Find a playground or encourage your child to do a lot of walking.
5. Get lots of rest
Make sure to put yourself to bed early the first few nights so that you’re alert when the children wake you up in the middle of the night. Consider napping when your child naps. For the first few days, it is more important that you are alert enough to care for everyone than that you adjust quickly.
6. Sync up nap times
Encourage your child to nap when it is nap time at your destination. It can be tempting to keep a child awake, hoping that they will crash at night, but that strategy rarely works well and can often run down your child's immune system.
7. Plan your trip
Expect that it will take four to five nights for your child to adjust to a new time zone and plan your trip, and your return accordingly.
So that you don't arrive at your destination overtired, try to sooth your child to sleep on the plane with comforters and story-time.
Image via Pinterest.
