Jet lag from Los Angeles to Melbourne: what to expect

How long does jet lag last from Los Angeles to Melbourne?

Unaided, westward shifts settle somewhat faster than a day per time zone: about 4 days for this one. S6 S7

This plan targets 2 days.

That's what the plan aims at, not a promise — bodies vary.

For this trip that's 2 days sooner than the unaided estimate, on the effort level that fits around a working day.

On night one, the evening after you land, the plan's bedtime is 21:25, early by Melbourne's clock. By night two it's back to 23:00.

Sleep length tends to recover within about two days. The timing of your sleep takes longer to come right S2.

What does the plan say for a typical Los Angeles to Melbourne flight?

Departs

11:00 Los Angeles time

Lands

22:05 Melbourne time +1 day

In the air

about 16h 05m (estimate)

Light, the first full day

20:25–21:25 Seek bright light (delay shift)

Keep it dim, the first full day

04:10–06:10 Avoid bright light (sunglasses / dim room)

Last caffeine, landing day

12:15 on the plane

Caffeine after landing

04:10–13:30

Nap after landing

23:35 Nap when you can lie down, up to 90 min

First night's sleep

21:25–05:30 the evening after you land

Westbound flights often go by day, so this example leaves Los Angeles at 11:00 and lands in Melbourne at 22:05 late at night, after about 16h 05m in the air.

The flight time is our estimate for a nonstop from the distance, and the trip is set in January. It's the default traveler from the calculator: usually asleep 23:00 to 07:00, no melatonin, Real Life effort.

You cross the date line, and it costs you a calendar day: leave on a Wednesday, land on Thursday, though the flight itself is under 17 hours.

In July the gap is 7 hours, not 5, because Los Angeles and Melbourne change their clocks in opposite halves of the year.

The plan gives you 85 minutes of sleep on board, from 20:10 to 21:35 Melbourne time, ending half an hour before you land. What's left of that night becomes a nap on the ground at 23:35: "Nap when you can lie down, up to 90 min".

You land at 22:05 and stay up through the local night, apart from the 23:35 nap: at 02:00 in Melbourne your body thinks it's 07:00 in Los Angeles, its morning. It adds a 30-minute nap at 11:00. The first full night comes the next evening, at 21:25.

The day before you fly, the plan keeps your morning dim, 07:00–09:00 Los Angeles time, and the sun is up in Los Angeles by about 06:57 in January, so plan on sunglasses for the commute.

Your last coffee on the plane is at 12:15 Melbourne time. After you land the plan opens caffeine again at 04:10, until 13:30: at 04:10 your body thinks it's 09:10 in Los Angeles, its morning, and the plan keeps you up through the night on purpose.

January is summer in Melbourne, with about 14 hours of daylight. The sun sets in Melbourne at about 20:40 in January, partway through the 20:25 light step the day after landing, so start it outside.

At over 16 hours in the air, this is one of the longest flights there is.

You land too late in the day for a light step on landing day, so the first one is the next day, at 20:25.

Note the order: the plan keeps you out of bright light until 20:25, then sends you outside. Light before your body's low point pushes the clock later S1, which is only welcome once the low point has passed.

What helps after flying west to Melbourne?

Going west, you want light before your body's low point, which usually means bright light in the evening and staying up a little later S1. Bright light first thing in the morning works against you. East vs west explains why this direction is the easier one.

If you nap on arrival, keep it short, so it doesn't eat into the night S1. The plan's arrival nap, at 23:35, is capped at 90 minutes. More tested advice in jet lag hacks, tested.

And the flight home from Melbourne?

Melbourne to Los Angeles is the same 5 hours the other way, eastward. It's the harder direction: about 5 days unaided, and the plan targets 2. Jet lag from Melbourne to Los Angeles has the details.

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