Flight to Australia. Jet lag etc.

[ThreeBeanChilli]

We're flying to Australia for 2 weeks with kids 15 and 12. We've not really travelled much with them at all but visiting friends and relatives (we last went 10 years ago when they were quite small).

Any hints and tips for the flight or around jet lag (either going to Australia or returning).

My sleep is... interesting and I do struggle to stay asleep often so a bit worried I'll be quote affected by jetlag.

It has to be an easier flight than it was with a 5 and 2 year old right!?

Also were all likely neurodivergent (1 diagnosed so far) and although all reasonably clever may find it a bit overwhelming.

I'd like to prep the kids to manage the plane journey of 1000 years as well!

For most people. west to east causes worse jet lag:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/travel-and-sleep/jet-lag

Anecdotally, getting to Oz in the early evening is best, as noted upthread.

Suggesting the OP do nothing for 3 days during a holiday is a luxury very few can afford!

Probably why I'm in a hostel lol

Echt. Oops we did that wrong then! We tried to time it so we had daylight hours in Singapore...

For most people. west to east causes worse jet lag

Oops we did that wrong then!

I think there’s some truth in eastbound is easiest but TBH there are so many variables it’s hard to come up with hard and fast rules. I think a tremendous amount depends on if or how well you can sleep on the aircraft, and very importantly the actual time of day of the flight.

Certainly some tactics that might work well for a passenger on a breakfast time eastbound departure won’t work on an evening time eastbound departure.

Melatonin cannot be purchased in the UK. It's a controlled drug and prescription only and you need to know what you are doing with it. I stupidly bought some in the US and took some on a west coast to UK flight and it was a fucking disaster. Forget about drugs.

Oh heck you don't use it as a sleeping pill on a flight, it'll make you feel like shit. You use it at bed time in your destination to help reset your circadian rhythm.

It can be bought over the counter in Australia by anyone over 55.

I strongly encourage you to try not to nap. Staying awake all day and going to bed at a normal time for your destination (early night is fine) is def the best way to minimise jet lag. I agree West to East is the worst, but not much you can do about that! My strategy is always sleep as much as possible on flight, then on arrival stay awake until destination bedtime, and arrange lots to do the next day and just push through.

Melatonin cannot be purchased in the UK

Eh? I buy it online all the time.

Having literally just got off the 17.5hr direct flight from Perth to London - its me too. It took me 5 days to get over my London to Perth flight. I can tell from experience I am already feeling jetlagged.
I have ADHD and I am used to coping on not much sleep - but for some reasons flights to Australia just get to me.

To go against the grain, having flown east LOADS of times (family in far east), we usually land in the morning. Have found it's best for me to sleep as I can on the flight (usually not much as economy not great for sleeping!), relax, don't stress about what time it is.
Then - go to bed for a nap, but get up by 1pm at the latest. Getting up is hard, but essential. Then, lunch and get outside in the daylight to wake yourself up. Bed at a normal time after dinner.
Have found that this way, I sleep much better overnight, and jet lag is then minimal. If I try to stay awake all day, I feel awful all day, pass out early, then wake in the middle of the night wide awake and it takes days to acclimatise.

You can buy melatonin online from biovea. Lots of people use it for jetlag and for ND kids sleep. It's your natural sleep hormone and not as dangerous as traditional sleeping pills. Helped with our jetlag to US last year.

Have found it's best for me to sleep as I can on the flight (usually not much as economy not great for sleeping!), relax, don't stress about what time it is.

I think the not stressing about it all is really important.

The apps and sleep plans are all very well but one potential problem about having some form of plan to acclimitise before the flight(s) or perhaps having some sort of sleep schedule for the flight itself is if it doesn’t work out you can end up clock watching and can end up utterly trashed on arrival.

We took herbal tablets called no jet lag. You have to take them regularly throughout the flight which meant shoving them into my husband's mouth as he can sleep anywhere. Then I took a sleeping pill the first night both in Australia and when we got home. I'm not saying it was perfect but the jet lag was much easier to deal with using this way than uk to USA

I agree with this. Keep to local time immediately. Including getting up, going to bed and eating.

It may be easier said than done though. I sleep virtually all the way there so that may be why I find it easier.