Traveling Via a Plane and 8 Easy Tips To Help Your Little One With Jet Lag

So you’re traveling, possibly across several time zones. With a baby. No need to panic, but some planning is definitely in order! This requires courage and determination, but also the willingness to be flexible. But hey, we’re parents and that makes us the hardest of the hard core, right? We can't just stay home until our little ones are ready to sit for hours in a car or a plane. Especially after being home through a pandemic, we're all itching to get out! We’ve got a world to explore and our babies are coming with us.

But before you set out, I want to make sure you have all the information you need. Tips to help maintain those sleep skills you’ve been working so hard to develop. I’m a sleep consultant, after all, so sleep is what I focus on. If you’re looking for hotel recommendations, it's not here (but here you can find hotel sleep tips!). So how do we maintain good sleep habits while we’re traveling? Especially if you’re crossing time zones, how do you deal with the inevitable complication of jet lag?

8 Tips for Overcoming Jet Lag

1. Avoid the Red-Eye

It would be so easy if we could jump on the plane when baby’s already asleep, and gave them just magically sleep through the entire flight, arriving fresh and rested and ready for the upcoming trip. It may have even happened once or twice in human history, but the odds are that won't be the case. It’s much more likely that you’re both going to have an awful night and arrive frazzled and seriously overtired. The best advice for timing of a flight is to catch a daytime flight and hope for a decent nap or two on the way. You’re all going to arrive with a bit of a sleep debt anyways, since motion sleep isn’t nearly as restful, but that can actually help you get your baby adjusted to the new schedule.

2. Get prepared for traveling

Given the circumstances surrounding travel, I think this is one of those rare times when it’s OK to let your child do whatever they would like to do. If they want to watch seven straight hours of Bluey (our current favorite!),  that’s fantastic. Be sure to pack your carry-on with as many toys, snacks, books, and portable battery chargers, and whatever they ask for, hand it over as you can cram. My only warning would be not to feed baby a bunch of sugary snacks in the hopes of keeping them quiet during the trip. This will just result in a big crash when they come down from that high, and that’s going to make sleep much harder. Offer fruits and vegetables if you can, and make sure you all stay hydrated.  Constipation and diarrhea are two of the most common symptoms from flying, so staying hydrated is crucial, even if it makes for more bathroom breaks.

3. Is it worth altering the schedule?

If you’re traveling for less than five days, it’s probably not worth making adjustments to baby’s bedtime regardless of the time difference. Experts say that jet lag lasts, on average, for about a day for every hour of time change. So if you’re taking a four day trip and you’re looking at a six-hour time change, it’s hardly worth getting baby fully adjusted to the difference just to turn around and have to do it all over again once you get home.

If, however, you’re going to be gone for longer than five days, then you’ll want to adjust to the new time zone as quickly as possible. Luckily, our bodies have an inherent ability to adapt to new time zones based on the light/dark cycle. This means you’ll have nature working on your side! So starting night one, go straight into the new time zone. It might not be a seamless transition, but it will get better.

4. Stick to your bedtime routine.

Bedtime routines are about more than just getting into cozy jammies and brushing teeth. A predictable bedtime routine sends signals to the brain that sleep is coming and expected. The brain starts preparing for it by firing up the melatonin production, relaxing the muscles, and slowing down mental activity. So whatever your baby’s bedtime routine is at home, stick as closely to it as you can. Something else to think about is blacking out any external light sources two hours before baby’s bedtime. If that means putting garbage bags over the windows, then you do what you have to do to make that room as dark as possible!. A completely dark room is one of the best tools you’ve got for helping them get to sleep. And more importantly, stay asleep.

5. Sunlight’s on your side.

As much as we don’t want any sunlight getting in the room while baby’s trying to sleep, we want lots of it when they’re awake. Getting a significant amount of sunlight during the day charges up our melatonin production and helps get the circadian rhythm adjusted quickly to the new time zone, so getting outdoors during the day will work wonders in helping baby sleep well at night.

6. Add an extra nap

Even in the best case scenario, baby’s still going to be needing a little more sleep once you get where you’re going. An extra nap of somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half, can really help counteract the overtiredness that comes after a long flight. Just remember to leave enough space between waking up from their last nap and bedtime. You want time for fatigue to build up. Let’s say you’ve got an 8 month-old and your usual bedtime is 8:00. You’ll want to get them up from their last nap of the day by no later than 5:00 so they are sleepy enough to go down for the night once bedtime comes around.

7. Keep things familiar

Remember to pack baby’s favorite PJs, lovie, blanket, pillow, and so on. Once baby’s asleep, it will help them to stay that way if their surroundings are similar to the ones they’re used to. And if you don’t usually share a bed with your little one, don’t start now. Try not to bed share as much as possible while you’re traveling unless you want to bed share when you get home as well. Babies get attached to this scenario very quickly, and once they’ve gotten attached, it can be really hard to get them back into their own bed.

8. Remember who you’re traveling with

Nobody thrives when they’re sleep deprived, and kids are no different. We’re all going to be a little grumpy and short-tempered once that plane lands. As I mentioned earlier, it takes about a day to adjust for every hour of time difference, so it’s going to require patience and consistency on your part to get them over the hump as soon as possible. Keeping your cool will help baby adjust quicker, and the sooner you’re all accustomed to the new time zone, the sooner you can all get on with enjoying your trip.

You CAN Do This

All you can do is your best to help set the stage for a successful trip, but keep in mind, children are unpredictable. Their schedule might be as consistent as you can make it but everything else is different. Change is difficult, but children always adapt. Plan your travel with their schedule in mind and just be patient. If your baby cries on the airplane, all you can do is help comfort them. You cannot worry about what others around you are thinking. In the end, none of that matters!!

Are you ready to work with a sleep consultant, or thinking about it? You can learn more about my service offerings and book a free consultation call. I'd love to take some time to talk with you about your sweet little one! You can also 'like' and follow me on Facebook and Instagram where I share free tips often.