I’m a former Flight Attendant and I used to work transatlantics. Most of those flights are overnight, landing in the morning. Try to sleep on the flight and stay up once you get there.

Drink lots of water during and after the flight. Airplane air is dehydrating and not being hydrated makes jet lag worse. Stay away from caffeine, sodas and alcohol.

You can nap but only if you can hit the sack before noon. Bring a travel alarm and don’t go more than 2 hours. It might make you feel worse so try to stay up. If you can’t get to a bed before noon, than skip the nap. I only took naps when I worked the flight.

Put yourself on the local schedule right from the first day. Sounds grueling? No, don’t torture yourself. For both directions, bed should be between 8 and midnight. Get up anytime between 6 and 10am. Tweak it to something more practical and don’t overschedule yourself on arrival.

This is very important; if you can’t sleep, do NOT wake up and turn on ANY screen. Put away your blackberry, your computer, the T.V. etc. This isn’t just practical advice but physically, the kind of light these emit supress melatonin, a chemical key to overcoming jet lag. Go ahead and do a search and read up on it. Keep light low, read a book, etc. but stay away from absorbing screens!

Also, your stomach also needs to be reset and it’s hard to sleep if it’s waiting for dinner. Keep snacks handy, nothing too salty or sweet. If you need to munch, keeping the lights down, etc. nibble on something (don’t stuff yourself, which will wake you up).

Just be grateful you don’t have the 9 hour time difference I face…with three kids. Little eyes looking at me at 5am asking if they can get up yet…

Have a good trip!

I have a harder time adjusting when flying from Europe to the US because of the added daylight.

Have a good flight!