Defy jetlag
Book flights departing between noon and 5pm
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Make the most of your trip to Philadelphia by feeling more awake. Flights that depart London between noon and 5pm make it easier to adjust to the local timezone on the day you land - "day 1 jetlag".
To defy jetlag, you need to try to avoid stretching your travel day out too long. But, the hours in a long haul travel day add up quickly:
- Flights from London to Philadelphia are typically 7–8 hours long.
- Add 2-3 hours in airports
- Add 2-3 hours getting to and from each airport
Your total door-to-door travel time becomes near the peak of your typical endurance. Most adults are awake for about 16-17 hours in a 24-hour period. An inflight nap will help, but picking better timed flights will make the most difference.
Flights that depart before noon will depart in the middle of the night in Philadelphia. Most people will be asleep there, but you will have been up for hours, getting to the airport, checking in, then taking off. Stretching out your day like this creates the perfect conditions for awful day 1 jetlag.
It's helpful to think of the earlier flights as "overnight" flights, instead of daylight flights. If you do have to take these earlier flights, plan to sleep deeply, avoid caffeine before you board, then "restart your day" with your pre-arrival meal service. It helps to plan to be active and outside when you land too, and avoid going to bed too early so you sleep through to the following morning.
Flights that depart after 5pm will land into Philadelphia in the middle of the night London time. Your body clock will be craving sleep, but you'll have to deal with immigration, collecting bags, and then getting to wherever you're staying first.
Treat these later flights as a long and lazy evening. Try to avoid sleeping deeply onboard, and aim for a place to stay near the airport. A good nights sleep in a real bed will help reset your body clock and minimise your day 2 jetlag.
