Flying to Australia - when to sleep?

[nikki1978]

DH and I are arguing about the best way to get ourselves into Australia time when we fly there in January. We fly from Heathrow at 9.20am and land in Abu Dhabi 8 hours later. We are there for 2 hours then get on another flight for 14 hours to Sydney, landing in Sydney at 7.30pm local time. Accounting for the fact that we will be up at 5am in the UK to get to the airport in time and will not get to our hotel until about 9pm Sydney time (the next day) I think it is best to get up at 5 then stay awake until about 3 hours into the flight from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, have a 3 hour nap then and go to bed as soon as we get to the hotel in Sydney. DH thinks we should stay up the night before, sleep on the flight to Abu Dhabi and then we are on Australai time and can go to bed when we get there.

What is the best option here considering I really struggle to sleep on planes?

i think you should just go with the flow, i would struggle to have a timed nap on a plane, but then i have never travelled as far.

Bump - anyone?

I'd just sleep as and when you felt like it. Really, don't stress about it. You'll catch up when you get there.

Every time I fly I try to set my watch to Oz time and sleep when it is night time there. Never works. I just sleep when they turn off the lights and up the heating in the plane.
As long as you can stay awake until at least 10pm when you land and then go onto a Oz sleep timetable that is the best you can do. Don't sleep the whole way on the plane. Go up the back and do strethches and laps of the aisles, don't drink alcohol (one drink in the air is worth 3 on the ground), drink lots of water.
If you need a nap on the plane then take some night nurse tablets to help.

I will also be flying to Oz in January, only to Brisbane via Hong Kong. I agree with the others - it is best to just go with the flow. I certainly would not try to stay up the night before.

How old is your DC? I last went when my DD was 3 months - very easy, she slept most of the time. This time she will be 20 months so I am expecting it to be much harder to keep her entertained and quiet. I will try to sleep whenever she sleeps.

When we get to Brisbane I try to switch to their time, but accept that there may be a few 2am 'parties' with DD.

We have flown to Aussie and NZ lots of times both ways round the world via far east and USA

I really think you need to stop thinking about it and you will just fall asleep on the plane when you are tired

My DH swears that he never sleeps on planes but believe me ~ he does

The only thing I would say is that when you arrive go to bed at the time the Aussies will ~ so in your case ~ arrive then have something to eat and drink + have a shower and then go to bed

Have a deffo brill time

Also make sure you get an eye mask so that they don't disturb you when they bring round the food ~ unless of course you would rahter eat then sleep

Kangaboy never eats on a plane ~ not even kids meal or crisps or bread ~ he eats at the airport and then again at refuelling stops but never on a plane so it is possible to go for 14 hours without food

Don't try to stay up the night before. It won't bump you onto Aussie time any more easily, it will just make the flight more exhausting and stressful.

When you get to Australia, try to go straight into their sleep clock. If necessary have a short nap in the daytime, not more than an hour or so, just to get you through to evening, for the first few days. When you wake up at night, keep the lights as low as possible, and when you get up in the morning go out into bright sunshine as soon as you can and stay there for a few hours. Sunshine really helps to regulate your bodyclock. Avoid caffeine and alcohol for the first few days as well.

i am watching this with interest as we also fly to oz in jan with 3 kids and have a similar stop over in abu dabi then onto melbourne i will watch with interest