Time change

We are taking a Danube cruise this fall. How do you adjust to the time change? It will be seven hours ahead for us. Do you sleep on the plane or not? We welcome any suggestions.

Everybody's biological clock is different but what works for us is to sleep on the plane (business class helps) as much as possible, then force ourselves to stay awake until bedtime in Europe the next day. That results in (almost always) a full night's sleep, leaving us somewhat rested for day #2. In fact, it can be hard to get to sleep on-time for night #2 but usually by day #3 we're OK.

Interestingly it takes our stomachs an extra day or two to adjust. It is really hard to eat breakfast for the first 2-3 days because the clock says 8AM, but our stomachs say it's 2AM, and who can choke down breakfast at that hour?

If you can, try to shift bedtime and wakeup time a few hours before you leave. We have never been able to do that due to work, however, but others say it helps. Melatonin can be helpful for some, to force bedtime at an hour when your body doesn't expect to sleep, though I rarely do that (and it's usually only after returning home).

We arrived a couple days before our cruise so we could acclimate before the cruise started. I did sleep on our flights but we flew from Honolulu, HI to Prague, CZ so we had to sleep at some point.

We usually arrive a day or two before our cruise in case of flight delays & to get over jet lag. We try to sleep on the plane but it rarely works (economy is just not comfy enough) but we do at least try to shut our eyes & skip movies, etc. Then it's straight to the hotel to drop off the bags & head out for a walk. The more we move the more awake we feel-finding some cappuccino helps too. By mid afternoon we head back to the hotel, get our room & set the alarm on my husbands cell phone for about an hour & half later & grab a short nap. Then it's showers & back out for some sightseeing & dinner. We're usually in bed by about 9:30-10:00 & get up about 7-8am ready for our vacation.

We are taking a Danube cruise this fall. How do you adjust to the time change? It will be seven hours ahead for us. Do you sleep on the plane or not? We welcome any suggestions.

We are also taking a Danube cruise this fall (it is an 8 hour time differential for us).

Unfortunately, I cannot sleep on airplanes - even if I take an Ambien, I can sleep for only about an hour on the plane (they are supposed to knock you out for 8 hours).

I use my noise cancelling headphones & watch some movies, take my Ambien cat nap & arrive in Europe exhausted (sometimes, with connecting flights, the total flight time is 18 hours). :eek:

Anyway, upon arrival at my European destination I stay awake until local night time & then take an Ambien. This is the only method that works for me (been travelling to Europe for 30+ years).

As posted above, everyone's circadian rhythm is different. I do agree with the previous post "straight to the hotel to drop off the bags & head out for a walk. The more we move the more awake we feel-finding some cappuccino helps too"

For our Danube cruise, we will arrive Munich 5 day before our cruise - this will afford us time in Munich with the added benefit of adjusting to local time.

To adjust to the time difference flying West towards East is more difficult than from East to West. Normally you will arrive into Europe early in the morning and sleeping on the the plane is difficult. My recommendation is to arrive at least two days prior to your cruise in order to adjust to the time difference and be well rested prior to the cruise.

I'm traveling a lot over multiple time zones and for me it's normally easier to adjust to the time difference at the beginning of an holiday - and more difficult at the end.

I agree with the comments above. I don't think I could survive in economy class anymore and we do fly business now, but I still don't get much real sleep. Arriving a day or two early really helps us, plus we get to enjoy the departure city -- we've gone that far, why not, if you have the time. Flying home (east to west) is worse for us -- we take almost a week to stop waking up hungry in the early hours and not feeling sleepy around 7 pm. But it's worth it!

I sleep on the plane and then hit the ground running. We walk about in the sunshine. Numerous articles I’ve read support this. The excitement of being in the new city always gets our adrenaline going. I set my watch to the new time when I get on the plane. When I land I just trick myself to believing that’s the time and that’s it. Don’t laugh but I read an article that wearing sunglasses in the airplane cabin helps to trick your body into thinking it’s night.

Hopefully we are able to sleep a few hours on the plane. If I’m really exhausted I’ll take a cat nap on the loungers on deck.

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I sleep on the plane and then hit the ground running. We walk about in the sunshine. Numerous articles I’ve read support this. The excitement of being in the new city always gets our adrenaline going. I set my watch to the new time when I get on the plane. When I land I just trick myself to believing that’s the time and that’s it. Don’t laugh but I read an article that wearing sunglasses in the airplane cabin helps to trick your body into thinking it’s night.

 

Hopefully we are able to sleep a few hours on the plane. If I’m really exhausted I’ll take a cat nap on the loungers on deck.

 

 

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I think for me adrenaline has a lot to do with why arriving at my vacation location (whether I am travelling east or west) is easier than returning home. I'm always excited to get away, but coming home is a drag. :(

We each have a plan that works for us.

I sleep on the plane and DH doesn't. My slumber is usually-drug induced (a muscle-relaxant for my back) and it will take at least 18 hours for me to get that out of my system. Although the experts say "hit the ground running," we have found that a four hour nap in bed as soon as we can works best for us.

I very rarely am able to sleep on the plane. I get what rest I can, find my hotel, and then walk around. I make myself stay awake until after dinner. Then I normally get a decent night's sleep.

If I'm still feeling out of sorts the next day, I find a hop-on-hop-off bus or easy walking tour. Take a nap after lunch, eat dinner at the regular time, and then stay up until 10pm or so. By day 3 I am on local time and it's no problem.