Here's my Europe routine (I don't worry about sightseeing). I sleep when I'm tired and don't set any alarms except for wake up. The nap I can take on the airplane during break is the key to the whole thing for me.

Denny

 

Because if you sleep any longer you’ll never be able to go to bed early that night.

 

Denny gets it. I gave up sightseeing after a couple of years. I would sleep until 2 hours before dinner (about 5 or 6 hours) and try to work out. Couple of beers and dinner then back to the room with a melatonin and hopefully sleep to the wakeup call. If I screwed it up, I would binge on youtube with the knowledge that I was always within four hours until my next nap opportunity the next day.

The 10 minutes after forcing an afternoon wake up in Europe is like hell, but with more pain.

 

Maybe for some people. I started off with the 3 to 4 hour nap when I started doing international and found it didn't help....still couldn't sleep later on in the evening a la circadian rhythm. Now I just sleep until whenever I wake up with the nap...and try to stay as close to home time as possible. That's worked wonders for me.

I agree with Denny...sleep when tired. All the tips and hints other guys give aren't science and might work for them but not you. There's no right way...only what you feel is best for you.

 

It took me a few hundred crossings before I figured out how to use a sleep cycle app. So I give it a 30 minute window to wake up in, and the app fires off the alarm when you're coming out of deep sleep and into light. Made me feel a lot better off the nooner and still easily able to sleep 7 on the local clock that night. But I was also sightseeing and socializing and working out, so I didn't want to sleep until 9pm. That being said, I didn't realize how exhausted I was all summer until I upgraded to the narrowbody life. Narrowbody don't just mean the airframe either. Ieat healthier, work out more, sleep better.... international flying will kill you eventually, unless you're in that 5% who seem to thrive on it physically.

 

My goodness this thread is an eye opener. As coveted as Widebody International is it seems like a complete wrecking ball on your body. I'll definitely try it out but I have a feeling I'll come running back to whatever fleet has 1-2 legs a day and 24 hour all inclusive layovers in the Caribbean.

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To each his/her own. Personally, I find doing a flight like SEA-AMS much easier than doing an all nighter from LAX-NYC. I'm able to sleep in the bunk and that makes all the difference in the world. I can't tell you how many times I needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open on the domestic all nighter. As I said, getting that 1 1/2 to 2+ hour nap during a flight makes all the difference in the world...........to me.

Denny

 

Also keep in mind the majority of my crossings were eastbound out of JFK. 6.5-7.5 flights...naps are supremely short since in most cases they aren't even legally required. That means low time 3 days, shorter naps, working more days per month. What Denny does is a lot more efficient and involves a lot longer naps. NYC ER you're switching your body clock more times per month and shorting yourself more full nights of sleep. But.....Malaga.

 

What fleets will have that by then...especially if we keep pushing for more pay/day? When I first got on the 73N we had tons of 4-days with 1 leg days. Or 1-2 leg days with long Caribbean layovers. By the time I left, those one leg days turned into a BWI turn before going to the west coast...or being rerouted out of my cush 24 hours PVR to a 13 hours FSD.

You'll either want to go right back to domestic or you'll never want to leave. Honestly when I first got here, I was ready to go back to domestic because I couldn't figured out sleep on 6-day trips. I still don't care for them but at least I have figured out my sleep. Now I either bid less than 6-day reserve blocks to avoid 6-days or drop my entire schedule and pick up 3-day trips. One over and back is super easy and a few allow you to keep yourself on east coast time. I'd also much prefer the 3-man 1030pm departure DTW-AMS than any redeye I've ever flown.

WRT to sleep, I never set an alarm which usually means 4-6 hours of sleep for me. Wake up, grab a quick workout and I feel great. Many layovers (especially in he summer), we find ourselves sitting on a restaurant patio for hours after dinner just BSing and taking in the sites. To me, this much more relaxing than the rush to the hotel, scarf down food (if you can find any), then jump into bed for the wakeup in 8-12 hours. Even worse were the early departures for a transcon to the west coast, day layover, then redeye back east, sit, then DH home. Or the redeye, day layover then go back west. These types of trips were infinitely more fatiguing than anything I've ever done on the WB.

I can sit short call from home and find myself MUCH more rested than when I sat reserve on the 73N. Well kinda, I find myself tired from getting all those projects done around the house or having fun with my hobbies . Plus there is something to the stability of trips. For example, on a 4-day block of reserve, I know that if I haven't been assigned a trip by the time I wake up on day 2, my chances of getting a trip drop to almost zero. If it's anything it will be a fly out/dh home repo or at worst a domestic overnight...both extremely rare. To be honest, many times I have a good idea if I'll be used before the reserve block even starts. When I bid a line, I can work 9 days/month and make the same as a normal line on the 73N. If I'm lucky the 9 days will get me what would take 90-95 hours to get on a 73N. It's not for everyone, but I find that working 3-7 days less a month (with a line) is much better WRT rest, even if it involves disrupting my circadian rhythm, which often happened in the 73N anyway.

 

Thanks for the detailed write up. Very good points to consider. I'm guessing from your DTW-AMS example you're on the 330?

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