Your Day-by-Day Jet Lag
Recovery Schedule
Eastward and westward travel cause different types of circadian disruption. Enter your trip details for a personalised recovery plan with melatonin timing and light exposure guidance.
| Day | Target bedtime | Target wake | Melatonin | Bright light from | Notes |
|---|
Most over-the-counter melatonin is 5–10mg — 5 to 20 times the effective dose. Research consistently shows 0.5mg is as effective as 5mg for jet lag phase shifting. Higher doses may cause next-day grogginess and suppress your body’s own melatonin production over time.
Take 0.5mg at your target destination bedtime minus 30 minutes, for the first indicated nights only. Do not continue beyond the recovery window — melatonin is a timing signal, not a sedative.
Light is the primary zeitgeber (“time-giver”) for the circadian clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is eastward jet lag worse than westward?
The human circadian clock has a natural period of approximately 24.2 hours — slightly longer than a solar day. This means it is naturally easier for the clock to run late (delay its phase, as in westward travel) than to run early (advance its phase, as in eastward travel). After flying west, your body needs to delay — aligned with its natural drift. After flying east, your body must advance its clock against that natural tendency, which requires more active resetting through light exposure and melatonin. This is why the recovery multiplier is 1.3 days per time zone eastward versus 1.0 days westward.
Do sleeping pills help with jet lag?
Sedative-hypnotics (sleeping pills) can help you sleep at the right time at your destination but do not accelerate circadian realignment — they knock you out but do not shift your clock. Melatonin is unique in both helping sleep onset and actively shifting the circadian phase. The most effective jet lag strategy combines strategic light exposure, low-dose melatonin (0.5mg at destination bedtime), and maintaining the local schedule from arrival day. Avoid sleeping at your home-time equivalent during the first day at your destination — it reinforces the old clock rather than the new one.