How To Avoid Jet-lag And Get A Better Nights Sleep When Travelling With Kids

Travelling is one of our favourite things to do as a family. There is nothing better than the buzz of booking the next big trip. The countdown, the holiday shopping and the anticipation of the trip for us is just a big a part as the trip itself.

And then the big day arrives. I don’t know about your children, but ours don’t often sleep on long haul flights, there is too much going on. The promise of an ice-lolly and great movies to watch, coupled with the sheer excitement of travelling. Means they arrive at the destination tired. Not ideal I know, and difficult to deal with at the end of a long haul flight.

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During our travels I have come up with a few ways to combat this. And to help limit jet-lag or lack of sleep affecting our trip.

Take a travel pillow; this is a great way to encourage children and teens to sleep on a flight. I have found if I can make the boys comfier, they are more likely to sleep when flying long haul.

And try using an eye mask to block out lights on a plane. When they are snuggled with a blanket and pillow it really does help the boys to drift off.

Avoid sugary sweets that may make them hypo and keep them awake on the flight.

Don’t allow them to nap when you arrive at your destination. This can be tricky when they are so tired, but opt for an early night rather than an afternoon sleep. It’s the best way to sync your sleep pattern to local time. Head to the pool or explore to keep them engaged and awake.

Don’t book a restaurant on the first night. Street or fast food and keeping moving is a better option. We have made this mistake many times. The kids are too tired to eat, grouchy or even fall asleep on the table. (yes Joe did this is Vegas) They are more likely to stay awake longer if you keep them active. The nearer you get to bed time the less chance they have of being up a 4 am the next morning.

The quicker you sync to local time the better.

Use the blackout curtains, obvious I know. Most hotels have a blackout curtain behind the actual curtains, if there is one use it. If you have a turn down service it will be done for you. If not the extra faff fighting with layers of curtains is worth it!

Don’t allow children to watch TV in bed or play with iPads’. I know you are on holiday but blue light is proven to prevent the brain going into sleep mode. Instead take a reading book, then if children can’t sleep they can read a book with a bedside lamp.

I may have trained the Christie boys a little to well now. As all three of them like long sleeps and lazy mornings on holiday, where as I like to be up and out for morning walks and breakfast. But hey as long as we are all happy and chilled it works.

They key for us is getting into a good sleeping pattern from day one. If you can do this meal times are much more enjoyable as no one is tired and that is where we used to feel the most impact.

I recently took a Tempur Travel kit on a trip to Greece to test it out.

I have to say it was handy to have a lightweight memory foam pillow and eye mask in my hand luggage. (Although Joe has now claimed it for his travel case!) It was wonderful to be able to get comfy on a flight and enjoy a nap after a 3am start eeek! It also meant I was all bright and ready to tour the resort, enjoy lunch and a dip in the pool on my arrival.

The great thing is you too can get your hands on one of these handy little travel pillows by heading into a Tempur Retailer between Monday 10th july 2017 – 7th August 2017 and ask the sales team if you can take the Tempur Challenge. Try out a few mattresses and see how comfy they are as they conform to the shape of your body. Experience the Mattress Collection. And in return, Tempur will send you a complimentary Comfort Travel pillow to take on your travels.

This post is in conjunction with Tempur® but all thoughts are my own

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