The best flights from London to San Diego

Make the most of your trip to San Diego by feeling more awake. Flights that depart London between 1pm 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 San Diego are typically about 11 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 1pm will depart in the middle of the night in San Diego. 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 San Diego 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.

It takes 70-80 minutes, and gives a free and easy way to see the city and stretch your legs after your long flight from London. Being outside and active will also help you stay awake and aclimatise to the new timezone. Expect a mild temperature that's pleasant for walking by the time you're landside after landing from London late afternoon or early evening.

If you have heavy bags, use the bus or a taxi. Not all of the route and sidewalks are easy to navigate.

The longest US flights get a second hot meal service, but you'll have 7-8 hours between service where you can go hungry. There are snacks onboard, but they tend to be carb-heavy that can spike your blood sugar and not really fill you up. Other airlines pace their meal service better for long dayflights that might leave you wanting more.

Avoid grazing through the flight, and consider high-protein snacks. These do a better job making you feel full and trigger hormones that make you feel more alert. Carb-heavy snacks will send you on a blood sugar rollercoaster that might make you feel less with it when you land.