Jet lag from São Paulo to Paris: what to expect

How long does jet lag last from São Paulo to Paris?

Unaided, eastward shifts settle at around a day per time zone: about 4 days for this one. S6 S7

This plan targets 1 day.

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

For this trip that's 3 days sooner than the unaided estimate, on the effort level that fits around a working day.

On night one the plan's bedtime is 00:35, late by Paris'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 São Paulo to Paris flight?

Departs

15:30 São Paulo time

Lands

07:30 Paris time +1 day

In the air

about 12h (estimate)

Light, landing day

09:25–10:25 Get outside into bright light

Keep it dim, landing day

21:35–23:35 Avoid bright light before bed

Last caffeine, landing day

16:30

First night's sleep

00:35–08:35

Eastbound long-hauls tend to land in the morning, so this example lands in Paris at 07:30, leaving São Paulo at 15:30 the day before, after about 12h 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.

In July the gap is 5 hours, not 4, because Paris moves its clocks and São Paulo doesn't.

The plan puts about 6 hours of sleep on board, from 01:25 Paris time. You're awake again before you land.

The day before you fly, the plan starts with light at 07:00–08:00 São Paulo time, after sunrise in São Paulo in January (about 05:34), so a walk outside covers it.

January days are short in Paris: about 9 hours of daylight. In January the sun is up in Paris from about 08:34 to 17:26, so the 09:25 light step on landing day is daylight. Outside is the easy way to get it.

What helps after flying east to Paris?

Going east, you want light after your body's low point and darkness before it S1. In the first days after a big shift that often means sunglasses in the morning and the early afternoon outside. Why flying east is harder goes through the mechanism.

Caffeine belongs in the morning to early afternoon at your destination S3. On this trip the plan's cutoff is 16:30, even if it feels like breakfast to your body.

And the flight home from Paris?

Paris to São Paulo is the same 4 hours the other way, westward. It's the easier direction: about 3 days unaided, and the plan targets 1. Jet lag from Paris to São Paulo has the details.

More routes from São Paulo

• São Paulo to Madrid