Ratgeber
Jet lag in children: how to reduce it
Jet lag in children can be eased with an adjusted sleep rhythm, daylight and calm first days, but it cannot be prevented entirely. Medical questions you clarify with your paediatrician. Family plans long-haul trips with time for adjustment.
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Schritt für Schritt
- Note the time difference and the direction of travel
- Adjust the sleep rhythm slightly a few days before the trip
- Choose flight times to suit the children's sleep
- After landing, allow plenty of daylight and exercise
- Eat meals according to local time
- Plan the first days calmly
- Clarify medical questions with your paediatrician
Checkliste
- Time difference to the destination known
- Sleep rhythm adjusted gradually
- Flight times chosen to suit sleep
- Favourite blanket and cuddly toy in hand luggage
- Snacks packed for waking periods
- First days without fixed programme points
- Daylight and fresh air planned for the arrival day
- Questions about sleep aids clarified with the paediatrician
Jet lag often hits children harder than adults, but it can be eased with simple means. An adjusted sleep rhythm, plenty of daylight and a calm start at the destination can help. Medical questions you clarify with your paediatrician.
Why does jet lag often hit children harder?
Children's body clocks are still strongly tied to fixed rhythms. When sleep, food and light suddenly happen at different times, many children react with tiredness, restlessness or loss of appetite. This is normal and passes. Siblings too often react differently, which does not make planning easier, but is normal.
How strong the jet lag is differs from child to child. The direction of travel also plays a role, and many families find westward trips such as to Orlando easier than trips east. There is no fixed rule. In addition, a change between heat and cool, for example from air conditioning, can disturb sleep, and a quiet room helps.
Younger children in particular often show jet lag through bad mood rather than tiredness. If your child is restless, it is worth a look at the clock back home.
What helps even before departure?
In the days before the trip, shift the sleep rhythm slightly towards local time. Half an hour earlier or later per day is enough for many families. What matters is that it stays manageable for the children. If you cannot adjust because everyday life does not allow it, simply start with the calm programme at the destination.
Choose flight times that suit sleep. A night flight often lets children sleep more, while a daytime flight allows a programme on the plane. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and the decision depends on your children. An evening ritual with a bath, a story and lights out also remains helpful, whatever time zone you are in.
How does arrival go well?
After landing, daylight helps. A walk, a visit to the pool or a playground gets the body clock going. Avoid long naps in the afternoon if your child is meant to sleep in the evening. It also helps to set your watch or phone to the destination's time as soon as you board and to tune the children in to it.
Eat according to local time, even if hunger does not yet match the clock. If your child is tired in the evening, they may go to bed early, as long as they do not wake too early in the morning.
A familiar cuddly toy, the usual bedtime story and a dark room help with falling asleep.
How do you plan the first days?
Plan two to three calm days, with no fixed excursions and no long car journeys. Family resorts in Dubai or Orlando offer a pool, playground and meals on site, which makes the start easier. A beach morning with plenty of light also often brings the rhythm into the new time faster.
If you only have one week of holiday, you cannot fully compensate for jet lag. Then a destination with a small time difference or a trip that is not too tightly scheduled helps.
If you see your child very tired after the arrival day, that is normal. Let them sleep early and plan the following day calmly.
When should you seek medical advice?
Questions about sleep aids, melatonin or other remedies do not belong in a travel guide. Discuss them with your paediatrician before trying anything. The same applies to pre-existing conditions or medication. If you are unsure, it is better to ask once too often before anything is given.
We advise you by video call on choosing destination, flight times and length of stay, so that jet lag disturbs as little as possible.
What applies to the return journey?
After returning, the body needs time too. Expect one to two calm days before school or nursery starts again. Plan the return so that you do not arrive on the last day of the holiday.
The same means help as on the outward journey: daylight, fixed mealtimes, exercise and a familiar place to sleep. Shift the rhythm slightly towards Swiss time while still at the destination, as the flight home approaches.
If you have the time, plan a buffer day at the end of the trip. That is not a waste, but prevents children from starting everyday life tired and irritable.
