For International Travel (6+ hour time difference)
If you arrive in the morning (local time), spend some time outside right away. The sun will help regulate your child’s circadian rhythm or biological clock that regulates her sleep.
If you arrive in the evening or at night (local time), move straight to your bedtime routine and into bed.
Get plenty of sunlight exposure throughout the day as well as lots of active play.
If your child is wide awake in the middle of the night, let her stay up for 1 hour. Keep the lights low and do some calm playing or reading (no screens!). After an hour, put her back into bed. This may be necessary for 2-3 nights.
When You Return Home Be patient.
Give your child a couple days to adjust back to your time zone.
After you return from your trip, it’s always the hope that your child will bounce back to her established sleeping habits! Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. If you find that your child has regressed, make minor adjustments until your child is back to her schedule.
The beauty of the body clock is that it can be programmed again and again. To program the body clock you have to be consistent which means do things at the same time every day.
Traveling can be hard with children. If you find yourself anxiously concerned about how things will go, sleep schedules, etc., it can impact your level of enjoyment on your trip. Try to relax your expectations. Things won’t be perfect, they won’t look like home, and that is okay! Once you can come to terms with that, it will make the trip much more enjoyable! Most importantly, let the little things go and HAVE FUN!! Be Well! Sleep Well!
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