Travelling with your child

Travelling with your little one this holiday season? Dreading the impact that changing time zones are going to have on their (and your!) sleep? Here are my top tips and coping strategies!

First of all, be patient

Baby sleep is already a challenge and jet lag can make getting your little one to sleep even more challenging. Remember that their body clocks are still adjusting so it might take them some time to get back into the swing of things, so try not to get too stressed out about it.

Short trips

If you are only away for a few days, it might be worth considering keeping your child’s schedule the same as at home. It takes an average of 24 hours for a child to adjust to a one hour time zone change, so you’re potentially looking at one night of disturbed sleep per hour of time difference.

East vs. West

Think about your direction of travel. Travelling east to west, you will gain time. For example, at home, it’s 7 pm, but at your destination, it’s only 3 pm. You could try adding in a little cat nap to help them adjust, based on wake windows. If that isn’t a possibility for you, try encouraging different activities to fill some of the time, such as going for a walk or playing outside.

Watch your child’s tiredness cues though and don’t allow them to become too overtired as that’s a sure-fire recipe for a disturbed night!

Travelling west to east could mean that it’s only 6 pm at home, but 10 pm at your destination. Perfect – pop them to bed. You may get an hour earlier wake-up, or they may treat you and sleep through!

Darkness is your friend...

You could also consider using blackout blinds in your room and try using sound or white noise machines to help soothe your baby and create a sleepy environment. Try to recreate the home sleep environment as much as possible. Packable blackout blinds are cheap, compact and available next day from Amazon and are great for rooms with even the thinnest curtains.

...but so is sunshine

Natural light (even wintery grey days!) can help your little one's body clock adjust more quickly. Getting them outside and encouraging physical activity whilst awake will help to ensure they are tired out when the time comes to sleep.

Cap those naps

Keep an eye on naps. Cap them at a maximum of two hours. Anything longer only delays the adjustment process – the same as for adults!

Use wake windows

Watch your wake windows. If you need to stretch them to make it through the day, do so by roughly 15 minutes so they’re not too overtired to sleep. Make sure you have a full wake window before bedtime so that their body knows it's time for that long night-time sleep. Aim for bedtime in the destination time zone between 6-8 pm.

Get ahead

A great way to transition your baby towards a new sleep zone is to gradually adjust their bedtime or waking time. As you get closer to the day of travel, start shifting by 15 minutes each night until you are more closely aligned with the new time zone.

Consider your flight times

If possible, try to keep your flight times in line with when they would normally be sleeping. This will help make the journey easier for them, and they might even fall asleep during the flight!

Though if yours is anything like mine, it'll all be too exciting and they won't sleep a wink!

Invest for success

Finally, consider investing in sleep coaching to help you help your baby adjust. Sleep coaches are experienced professionals who can provide you with a plan designed specifically for you and your little one. They will also be able to offer tips and strategies on how to manage the time zone changes.