Time Zones, Jet Lag & Baby Sleep

I often get parents asking me how they should prepare for jet lag when travelling with their baby so here are my top tips for you.

Should I prepare my baby for a time change when travelling ?

This will depend on how old your baby is and what their temperament is like. For babies 6 months and younger, I wouldn’t waste any time trying to prepare them as their circadian rhythm will still be maturing and they are unlikely to be in a consistent nap routine at this age. 

For those babies who have a regular temperament (they like to be in a routine and struggle if their routine is changed) or those who are in a rhythm where naps, wake up and bedtimes are all consistent, it may be worth preparing their body clock a week before you set off. 

How can I prepare my baby for travel if we are travelling West to East ?

A week before you travel, gradually start waking your baby a bit earlier in the morning and moving naps and bedtime a little earlier. If they are eating meals, also move these to a little earlier in the day. Depending on the time difference you may decide to get all the way to your holiday’s local time or you might just want to split the difference. 

How can I prepare my baby for travel if we are travelling East to West ?

A week before you travel, gradually start pushing bedtime and nap time later. If they are eating meals, also move these to a little later in the day. Depending on the time difference you may decide to get all the way to your holiday’s local time or you might just want to split the difference. Or you could wait until you get to your destination and add in a later afternoon cat nap (around the time they would normally go to bed) so that they aren’t going to bed too late. Just a pre-warning, they will probably be a little grumpy about waking up so make sure you are prepared!

What if I don’t want to prepare ?

No problem, just jump straight into the new local time.! Spend lots of time in the daylight and try eating meals in local time. Make sure you bring things like a white noise machine and travel black out blinds so that you can avoid them losing out on total overall sleep time.

If you found this useful or have a question, I'd love you to leave me a comment below.