How to Beat Jet Lag: What Actually Works, and What's a Waste of Time
How to beat jet lag: get the direction right, time your daylight and coffee, protect your sleep, and switch to local time the moment you land.
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Land ready, not wrecked.
Jet lag isn't bad luck. It's your body clock reading the wrong sky. See your flight cross daylight and darkness, then follow a plan that shifts you the right way, one day at a time.
Departure Daylight along the way Arrival
How it works
- 1
Enter your flights
Origin, destination, times. Add stops for multi-leg trips.
- 2
Watch the sun cross your route
The map plays your journey so you see exactly when your body meets light and dark.
- 3
Follow the day-by-day plan
When to chase light, when to hide from it, when to sleep, when to stop the coffee.
Learn the science, in plain English
All articlesWhat Is Jet Lag? Why It Knocks You Flat, and How to Beat It
What is jet lag? It's your body clock stuck on home time after you cross zones fast. Causes, symptoms, and how long it lasts, roughly a day per zone.
ReadFlying East vs West: Why East Wrecks You and West Doesn't
Flying east is harder than flying west because your body clock likes to run late. Here's why east flattens you, and how to plan for each way.
ReadLight and Jet Lag: Your Most Powerful Lever (and It's Free)
Light is your most powerful lever against jet lag, stronger than caffeine, meals, or any sleep aid. Why daylight resets your clock, and what to do first.
ReadCaffeine and Jet Lag: Time It Right and Coffee's on Your Side
Caffeine can speed up jet lag or wreck your sleep, and timing decides which. Here's when a coffee helps you adjust and when to put the cup down.
ReadYour First 48 Hours After Landing: Where Jet Lag Is Won or Lost
Your first 48 hours after landing decide how fast jet lag fades: get outdoor light timed to your direction, hold one wake time, and eat on local time.
ReadCommon questions
- How long does jet lag last?
- Roughly a day for every hour of time change, but direction matters more than distance. Left alone, your clock drifts back into line at about 1.5 hours a day flying west and only 1 hour a day flying east, so a six-zone hop east can cost you the better part of a week. Timing your light well beats that default. what jet lag actually is →
- Is flying east really worse than flying west?
- Yes, and it is not in your head. Your body clock runs slightly long, so pushing your day later to fly west goes with the grain. Flying east means chopping the day short and fighting the clock at every step. Same number of zones, noticeably harder trip. why east is the hard direction →
- What is the single most effective thing I can do?
- Get your daylight at the right hours. Light is the strongest signal your clock takes, it costs nothing, and no supplement comes close. The catch is that the same daylight pushes you forward or backward depending on when you get it, which is exactly what the planner works out for your route. how to use light as a lever →
- Does melatonin work for jet lag?
- It has better trial evidence than almost any other remedy, with the clearest benefit flying east. But it is a clock signal rather than a sleeping pill: taken at the wrong hour it nudges your clock the wrong way, and what you can legally buy changes at every border. when melatonin backfires →
- Should I nap when I land?
- A short one, if you have to. Keep it to twenty or thirty minutes and not within about six hours of local bedtime, or you are borrowing against the night you actually need. Your first 48 hours are where most of the trip is won or lost. what to do in the first 48 hours →
- Do I need to shift my sleep before I fly?
- One or two days is plenty, and a partial head start still helps. Pre-flight shifting only moves your clock about 30 to 45 minutes a day going east and about an hour going west, so closing a six-hour gap before departure would take a week that almost nobody manages. how many days to adjust →
- Is it ever not worth fighting?
- Often. On a short hop or a two-night trip, staying on home time beats dragging your clock somewhere it has to come straight back from. The planner says so plainly instead of inventing a schedule for you. the trips not worth adjusting for →