This means travelers have a ton of choices on this particular route, and I've experienced almost every option available. However, until last week, I had exclusively taken overnight flights — known as red-eye flights — when flying eastbound across the Atlantic.

Red-eye routes that depart at night in the US and arrive the next morning local time better streamline airline connections and give travelers a full day when they land, but this can come at the expense of a good night's rest.

The jet lag is a drawback, but in my college years, I preferred having an extra day at my destination and found the grogginess worth it — though I'll admit the sleepless nights have gotten old, especially since I now fly to Europe at least once a month for work or leisure.

There are daytime flight options, however, which are less common. They depart in the morning in the US and land in the evening on the same day in Europe.

Curious about how the daytime flight compared to a red-eye, I specifically booked a morning departure for my recent trip from New York to London. I found it easier to manage my sleep cycle.

The time difference between New York and London is five hours.




Taylor Rains/Business Insider

My particular daylight flight was in economy on a British Airways Boeing 777 that left New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 8:05 a.m. Eastern Time and landed at London Heathrow at around 7:30 p.m. local time.

Out of the nearly two dozen flights scheduled on my day of travel, there were only a handful leaving in the morning.

I've been put off by morning departures in the past because they were many times more expensive, but the one I took was about the same cost as the red-eye options that day. Google Flights shows similar pricing heading into the summer, too.

Roundtrip flights departing in the morning from New York-JFK are the same price as the red-eye options, according to a Google Flights search for June.




Google Flights

To minimize jet lag, my plan was not to sleep the entire flight and aim to go to bed by 11 p.m. London time the same day — or what would be 6 p.m. back in New York. Because I was up at 4 a.m. in New York to catch the morning flight, I figured I'd be tired enough to sleep.

My vision seemed to work. It took two hours to get to my hotel after landing at Heathrow, getting me there at 9:30 p.m. That was perfect timing as I grabbed dinner, showered, and was asleep by midnight.

I woke up around 9 a.m. the following day, refreshed and ready to explore London. I did find myself sleeping in a bit more than I usually do at home, but that is much more minor jet lag compared to my tiredness after a red-eye.

I didn't have to power through an up to 16-hour day (depending on how early you landed) after only getting four or five hours of sleep on an overnight flight, which helped my body clock more easily adjust to the time change.

Looking forward to future eastbound treks, the daytime flight is an easy choice — especially when flying in economy, where even a full flight's worth of sleep is rarely restful.