How long do you give yourself to get over jet lag before going back to work?

[atleastimtryin]

I'm going to America next year which is the furthest place I've ever been, and I've never experienced jet lag before.

I'm going for a week, and will return early Saturday morning and am due to start work on Monday morning but I was wondering whether I should book a few days off for once I'm back (e.g. the Monday and Tuesday?) to give myself time to rest and recover? Or can I just go straight back on the Monday and push through?

What do you tend to do?

I took some melatonin and was back the next day! Granted WFH so a bit different, but honestly being forced back into routine probably helped, and the melatonin worked wonders (you can buy it in the US) It was also only East coast, I gave myself a couple days when it was West coast previously.

I've never had more than a day between returning from the US and getting back to work. Once I slept that entire day (honestly don't know where the day went), and other times I've just tried to get a bit more sleep on that first day back. It's never occurred to me to have a longer break to "recover" as I've never been particularly affected by the jet lag. I suppose it depends on the time of the flight as to whether you sleep on the flight itself or whether you go to bed and sleep for several hours when you get back home.

Lat trip we came back Sunday morning. Back to work Monday.

First trip we came back Thursday and went back to work Monday. We were all up looking at each other at 2 am. I think the more time you take off the worse it is. Going back gets you into a routine again.

We usually go straight back. How it will affect you will depend on which part of the US you are visiting. We don’t find jet lag much of issue from the east coast but the west coast is different and will wake up at crazy times for a few days on return which the kids find hilarious as they end up watching movies and eating cereal in the middle of the night! Once came downstairs to find my DH building Lego at 3am! I’d come down to do the washing as I couldn’t sleep myself! I think it’s best to get back into your normal routine ASAP though. I was once in between jobs after I came back from California and my body clock was off for days!

I don't really. I would never take a full day off for jet lag. Even if I got back Sunday I would work on Monday, though would prefer to return Saturday from a long trip. If I was returning on Sunday I would try to make sure Monday wasn't too busy but otherwise wouldn't worry about it. It does of course depend on your job and whether east or west coast.

Back when I used to travel for work as a management consultant I would put in a full day's work in New York, fly overnight, then be expected back in the London office on time the next morning. Can't say I would recommend that though!

If you’ve got most of Saturday and Sunday to recover, you’ll be OK. It’ll be hard getting up on Monday morning, but you’ll get through it.

I’ve done the trans-Atlantic flight many times and I usually adjust within four days. So by Wednesday, you’ll be fine.

I often go back to work the next day after a long haul flight if it's not the weekend.

No way would I waste holiday for jet lag! I would be coming back Sunday, and going to work on Monday (which I did once from New Zealand - wasn't much fun, but meant I had more time to spend there). If you're getting back on Sat, Monday will be fine. You'll have 2 nights to readjust.

If you're on the east coast, it's only a 5hr difference, which is nothing really. Even west coast, it's perfectly doable. You'll be knackered for a couple of days, but I don't see the point of being knackered and just sitting around at home. And you need to be sleeping at 'normal' times, so you should be awake anyway.

No days. Used to live in HK. Would land 4pm from uk and be I work 8:30 am having barely slept. The way forward is powering through. Takes ages to adjust otherwise. Just drink loads of coffee.

caveat: haven’t read whole thread so if you’re a brain surgeon or in air traffic control, ignore this advice.

If it was Oz I'd say take an extra day or two. But the US? You'll be fine

You’ll be ok. A short nap if you get home about midday (and haven’t slept on the flight back) then stay up as late as you can. Get up a reasonable time the next morning and you’ll be fine. You can also buy melatonin in US drugstores which helps a lot - you take it at the bedtime you’re trying to adjust to.

None. Most of my transatlantic travel has been for work ... you don't get time off to recover when you get there. Sometimes when it was east rather than west coast, it'd be a 'red eye' back, then train up north, sometimes go into the office that afternoon.

I'd always go straight back unless I have loads of leave left to use up- which I never do, so not prepared to waste a day of annual leave. And I do suffer from jet lag, have just learnt to manage it.

I've done many a trip back from New Zealand where I've arrived Sunday and gone to work next day and even one trip where I landed very early morning and went straight to work from Heathrow! Got through the day with some strong coffee and energy drinks then crashed around 4.30pm. But I don't work in a safety critical job, where I wouldn't risk doing it.

Also recommend Melatonin.