Hellobee

As I mentioned in this post, Mr. Dolphin and I love to travel and firmly believe in the great benefits of traveling with children. One of the biggest challenges is dealing with time zone changes. Because we live on the East Coast, any time we visit our families in California and Seattle, we have to deal with a three-hour time change. When we go to Europe and, hopefully Asia in the near future, we deal with even bigger time changes.

Gorgeous 75 degree day in Greece in early November.  7 hour time difference?  No problem!

Here are ten tips with dealing with time zone changes for babies and toddlers. Some of the advice below may seem contradictory, but we try to use our best judgment based on the circumstances of where we’re going, how big of a time difference there is, and how long we’ll be gone.

1) Try shifting bedtime in the direction that you’re going before you leave: We use this trick when flying west. We try to slowly shift the schedule in fifteen-minute increments so that it’s less of a shock. We don’t fully get to the three hour mark, but we do move his bedtime later which makes the remaining hour or so easier to handle.

2) For shorter trips (and shorter time zone changes), ignore the time difference: If we’re going on a shorter trip of just a few days, I don’t think it’s actually worth it to adjust to a new time zone. We may adjust by an hour because it’s pretty easy to deal with a one hour difference, but nothing more than that because it’s simply not worth it. By the time we get adjusted to the new time zone, it’s time to fly home and adjust back.

3) Split the difference: When we go to Seattle for Mr. Dolphin’s brother’s wedding next month, we’re planning to shift bedtime about an hour and a half, but there will still be an hour time difference to overcome. Because we’re going to be there for less than a week, we don’t want to have to adjust the kids to the new time zone, only to turn around and have to readjust back to eastern time a few days later. We’ll be shifting them, but only two hours instead of three.

4) Don’t take a red eye: This tip is a bit controversial because I know plenty of parents who highly recommend a red eye flight. Parents often say that their child can sleep on a plane and will arrive at the destination well-rested. This has not been our experience and Lion does not sleep well on planes. Each red eye flight we’ve attempted has resulted in about an hour or two of sleep total for Lion, resulting in a very cranky child. As soon as we land, he understandably wants to sleep, no matter what time it is, which throws off our whole plan.

5) If you are adjusting to a new time zone, adjust as quickly as possible: I’ve followed this rule my entire adult life and think that in the long run, it’s actually much easier. I realize that it’s tougher for kids, but at least with Lion, we’ve found that he’s pretty resilient and after a day, can overcome the jet lag. This means that we reset the clocks and pretend that it’s a normal day, going to bed at the time we normally would even if we’re tired earlier in the day. In practice, it may mean that naptimes are bit longer and the schedule is slightly thrown off for the first day, but it’s well worth it to be on schedule for the rest of the trip.

6) Stay active during the new time zone’s day hours: Related to number 5, we try to stay active during the time zone’s day hours on the first day. It’s easier to stay awake when there’s a lot of activity and (theoretically) easier to fall asleep after a relatively full day. I actually fall into the “sleep begets sleep” camp, but we adjust when it comes to time zones! Somehow, this has worked out for us even though when we’re home and Lion is overtired, adrenaline kicks in and keeps him up. It’s a travel mystery.

7) Don’t let the kids nap too long: We want to make sure that naps aren’t replacing normal sleep. Lion normally takes a 1.5 hour to 2 hour nap during the day. We might let him stretch out to 2.5 or 3 hours if he’s really exhausted, but after that, it’s time to get up to ensure that he will be tired when it’s bedtime.

8) If flying east, just go with the benefits of the old time zone time: When we went to Europe last November, we didn’t fully adjust to the new time zone because there were benefits to shifting four hours rather than six. We didn’t mind Lion going to bed later (closer to 9pm than 7pm) as long as he was waking up later (which ended up being more like 6:30am rather than 5:30 am; even though he went to bed two hours later than usual, he would still wake up an hour earlier). We were happy to have an extra hour of sleep in the morning!

9) Expose the kids to lots of natural light: Natural light helps adjust the body’s circadian rhythm and therefore adjust to the new time zone. If we’re out and about at 4pm pacific time in California on a sunny day when it would normally be getting dark on the East Coast because it’s 7pm eastern there, we are less inclined to feel like it’s getting close to bedtime.

10) Food. Lots and lots of food: As someone who has lived with insomnia for the majority of her adult life, I am experienced with replacing sleep with food. It’s not an ideal replacement, but it definitely helps (or at least masks the sleep debt by giving the body a different type of fuel source). I’m not suggesting eating a bunch of junk food, but having an extra couple of snacks during the day of fresh fruit, cashews or a sandwich works wonders. Try to stick to high protein healthy foods as they’re great for energy. If I have the time before a trip, I’ll make some granola packed with things like oats, almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries, apricots and edamame for a healthier snack to boost energy. Lion will gobble it up plain or put into some plain yogurt if we can find some.  As a corollary to the lots of food recommendation, we also try to drink lots of water throughout the day.