Time Zone Changes: How to Beat Jet Lag & Fatigue

About the author

Evelyn Reed, M.S.

Health Science EducatorCertified Wellness Coach

Evelyn Reed, M.S., is a Health Science Educator and Certified Wellness Coach specializing in evidence-based, at-home wellness solutions. With a Master's degree in Health Science, she focuses on translating complex scientific research on cellular health and light therapy into practical, accessible protocols. Evelyn is dedicated to empowering individuals to manage pain, improve sleep, and enhance skin vitality. Her science-first, empathetic approach makes her a trusted advocate for achieving long-term health goals.

Jet lag and time-change fatigue can feel like your brain and body are living in two different worlds. You might be staring at the ceiling at 3:00 AM, struggling to stay awake in an afternoon meeting, or watching your teenager become even more irritable after the clocks “spring forward.” As a wellness-focused practitioner, I see these problems not as personal failures, but as predictable biology.

The encouraging news is that your internal clock is highly trainable. Research from major sleep centers and public-health organizations shows that with the right combination of light, timing, and daily habits, you can adapt more smoothly to time zone changes and ease the symptoms that come with them.

This article walks you through what is happening inside your body, what actually works before, during, and after a time change, how to handle daylight saving time at home, and how supportive practices like aromatherapy and at-home wellness tools can fit into an evidence-based plan.

Your Body Clock, Jet Lag, and Time Change

The circadian “orchestra”

Inside your brain, in a region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, about twenty thousand pacemaker cells act as a master circadian clock. They keep time on roughly a twenty-four-hour cycle and coordinate clocks in almost every tissue in your body, including your lungs, liver, skin, and immune cells. Researchers often compare this network to an orchestra: the brain is the conductor, and the cellular clocks are the instruments that must stay in sync.

This circadian system governs when you feel sleepy or alert, but also influences metabolism, body temperature, mood, hormone release, digestion, and aspects of thinking and reaction time. The strongest cue that keeps this system aligned to the outside world is light, especially bright natural daylight.

When you rapidly cross time zones by plane, or when the clocks jump forward or back for daylight saving time, your internal clocks do not instantly reset. Your brain and organs are still operating on “home time” while the local clocks insist that it is morning, evening, or bedtime. This temporary misalignment is what we call jet lag or, in the context of clock changes without travel, time-change fatigue.

Researchers use terms like “desynchronosis” and “circadian burden” to describe how much your internal clocks have to shift to keep up with the social clock. Modeling studies supported by the National Institutes of Health suggest that greater circadian burden is linked to higher rates of conditions such as obesity and stroke, especially when people regularly receive too little morning light and too much evening light.

Why eastward trips and “spring forward” hurt more

Across multiple studies summarized by sources such as the CDC, Mayo Clinic, and Verywell Health, several themes repeat. Crossing three or more time zones makes jet lag more likely and more severe. Eastward travel, where you “lose” hours and must fall asleep earlier, tends to be harder than westward travel, where you can stay up later. Sleep experts sometimes summarize this as “east is a beast, west is best.”

Your natural circadian rhythm in many people runs a bit longer than twenty-four hours, which means it is usually easier for the brain to delay sleep and wake times (as in westward travel or staying up late on weekends) than to advance them (as in eastward travel or early wake-ups after spring daylight saving time). A rough rule of thumb from multiple medical sources is that it can take about one day of adjustment for each hour of time difference, although individuals vary widely.

Common symptoms and who is most vulnerable

Jet lag and time-change fatigue are not just about feeling a little sleepy. The Cleveland Clinic, CDC, and other medical organizations describe a cluster of symptoms that can include difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep at appropriate local times, early waking, daytime drowsiness, extreme fatigue, headaches, digestive upset, appetite changes, irritability, mood dips, and trouble with memory, judgment, and concentration.

These symptoms are usually temporary and improve as your circadian system realigns, but they can be more intense in people who are already sleep deprived, under a lot of stress, or older than about sixty. Teens are especially vulnerable because puberty naturally shifts their clocks later, even as school schedules demand early mornings. People with depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic sleep disorders may also struggle more when the clocks change or when they cross time zones quickly.

Understanding body clock, jet lag, time zone changes with organs in clock & yawning person.

Preparing Before a Time Zone Change

Start with sleep, not just stimulants

Many people in the United States already sleep less than seven hours most nights. Physicians interviewed by clinic-based sources emphasize that chronic short sleep is linked to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, depression, and impaired immune and heart function. When you start a long trip or a time-change week with “sleep debt,” the lost hour from a flight or daylight saving time hits harder.

In the days before a known time shift, treat sleep like a non-negotiable health priority. Aim for consistent bedtimes and wake times that give you seven to nine hours in bed. Avoid late-night screen binges and minimize alcohol and heavy meals near bedtime so that the sleep you get is deep and restorative.

Shift your schedule gradually

Several sources, including the CDC, academic sleep centers, and jet lag guides from Weill Cornell and Johns Hopkins, recommend shifting your schedule in small steps before you travel or before a seasonal clock change.

For eastward trips, begin moving bedtime and wake time earlier by about thirty to sixty minutes each day for several days. If you are flying from the West Coast to the East Coast, that might mean going to bed and getting up one or two hours earlier than usual in the three days before your flight. For westward trips, do the opposite and gradually move bedtime and wake time later.

The same principle helps when you know daylight saving time is coming. Universities that study sleep and circadian rhythms advise treating the “spring forward” week like mild jet lag and adjusting your schedule in advance rather than losing an hour abruptly.

Short trips are a special case. For work travel lasting one to three days, especially for three-hour domestic time differences, some sleep clinics and public-health resources advise staying mostly on your home time zone when possible. Scheduling important meetings or performances during your usual peak hours can reduce performance dips.

Use light as your primary reset tool

Light is more powerful than any supplement when it comes to shifting your circadian rhythm. Experimental and modeling studies summarized by human performance researchers and medical schools show that morning light tends to advance your clock (helping you wake up earlier), while evening light tends to delay it (pushing bedtime later).

Before an eastward trip, you can help your body by seeking bright light earlier in the day. That might mean going outside shortly after your earlier wake-up time rather than lingering in dim indoor light. Before a westward trip, spending more time in bright light later in the afternoon and early evening can support a later schedule.

The same principle applies to daylight saving transitions. When clocks move forward and mornings become darker, researchers from institutions like Berkeley and Brown note that people receive less morning light and more evening light, which can worsen sleep and mood. Any extra time you can spend in real morning daylight—walking, eating breakfast near a window, or stepping outside soon after waking—gives your brain the signal that it is time to be alert.

Plan your travel day for your body, not just your calendar

When you can choose, daytime flights that allow you to keep a normal night of sleep before departure are often easier on your system than red-eyes that compress or fragment sleep. Jet-lag guidance from hospitals and the CDC encourages travelers to avoid large meals, excess caffeine, and alcohol in the hours before and during flights. These can all fragment sleep and worsen dehydration.

It helps to set your watch or phone to the destination time before take-off. Doing so nudges you to start thinking, eating, and resting according to where you are going rather than where you came from. Lightweight, comfortable clothing and a plan for simple movement at the airport and in the cabin prepare your body as well.

During Travel: Protect Your Body and Start the Reset

Align to the destination clock as early as possible

As soon as you board, act as if you are already on local time at your destination. Healthline and other jet-lag resources recommend trying to sleep on the plane when it is night at your destination, and staying awake when it is day there, even if that feels counterintuitive.

If it will be nighttime when you land, treat the flight as part of your nighttime. Use an eye mask, earplugs or white noise, and a travel pillow to create a dark, quiet environment. If you normally use a calming scent at home, such as lavender or chamomile, bringing a travel-sized pillow spray or a cotton ball with a drop of essential oil can help your brain recognize “sleep time,” as suggested by clinic sources that promote aromatherapy for relaxation.

If it will be daytime when you land, try not to sleep deeply on the flight. Light dozing is fine, but long stretches of sleep at what will be your new daytime make it harder to fall asleep later.

Hydration, food, and movement

Several medical summaries point out that long flights combine prolonged sitting, reduced oxygen, lower cabin pressure, warm air, and very low humidity. These conditions promote dehydration, swelling, headaches, and a general sense of feeling “off,” all of which can make jet lag symptoms feel worse.

To counter that, sip water regularly before, during, and after your flight. Aim for water or non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverages rather than multiple coffees, energy drinks, or alcoholic beverages. Both alcohol and caffeine can disrupt normal sleep architecture and leave you more tired even if you do doze.

Smaller, lighter meals with lean protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables are easier on your digestion than very heavy restaurant or airport meals. Some travel medicine and nutrition sources note that front-loading calories into the earlier part of your day once you land, such as eating a substantial breakfast and lighter dinner, may also help your body’s internal clocks adapt, especially over the first few days in a new time zone.

Whenever the seat belt sign is off, stand, stretch, and walk the aisle briefly. Gentle ankle circles, calf pumps, and shoulder rolls at your seat reduce stiffness and support circulation.

After You Arrive: A Practical Reset Plan

Use the first day wisely

How you behave in the first twenty-four hours after arrival has an outsized impact on how quickly you adjust. Time-zone guidance from the CDC, Mayo Clinic, and multiple university sleep programs converge on several key ideas.

If you arrive during the day, stay awake and active until a reasonably local bedtime. Outdoor light, even on a cloudy day, is far brighter than indoor light and tells your brain unmistakably that it is daytime. A walk, gentle exercise, or a light social activity outside can lift your mood and keep you going. Short naps of about twenty minutes early in the afternoon are acceptable if you are overwhelmingly sleepy, but long or late naps can push bedtime later and prolong jet lag.

If you arrive at night, prioritize getting to bed at a local sleep time rather than staying up to “explore.” Aim for at least four solid hours of sleep in the new time zone on that first night, as some public-health guidance suggests, and then anchor your schedule with consistent wake-up times over the next few days.

Tailor light exposure to travel direction

Because light is such a strong cue, timing matters. Mayo Clinic and public-health guidelines summarize light timing this way. After eastward travel across several time zones, you initially want to avoid bright light in the very early morning local time and seek bright light in mid to late morning, then gradually shift that exposure earlier. This prevents your internal clock from drifting the wrong way. After westward travel, avoiding very early morning light for a day or two and seeking bright afternoon and early evening light helps push your clock later.

A simple way to implement this is to think in terms of where you would normally be at home. If you are usually asleep at 2:00 AM at home but you land in a destination where bright light at that local time would translate to your “middle of the night,” wearing sunglasses and minimizing exposure initially can keep your clock from being pulled in the wrong direction. Later in the local morning or early afternoon, spending several hours in bright light supports adaptation.

Indoor bright-light devices can help when outdoor light is limited, especially for business travelers who spend much of the day inside. Clinical sources describe light boxes and visor-style lights used under medical guidance to mimic morning or evening sunlight at precise times.

Sleep hygiene in a new place

Creating a sleep-supportive environment is just as important on the road as at home. Sleep-health programs recommend keeping the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet when possible. That might mean using blackout curtains or an eye mask, earplugs or a white noise app, and silencing phones and alert sounds.

Limit caffeine after midday in the local time zone; many experts suggest curbing caffeine at least six hours before bedtime to avoid delayed sleep. Alcohol close to bedtime can make you feel sleepy initially but fragments sleep and reduces its restorative quality, so allow several hours between your last drink and sleep.

Wind-down rituals are powerful signals to the nervous system. A warm shower, gentle stretching, breathing exercises, or quiet reading away from bright screens help transition the brain into a sleep mode. Clinic sources that discuss aromatherapy specifically mention scents like lavender, chamomile, bergamot, and sandalwood as popular choices for easing anxiety and promoting relaxation. You can use them in a diffuser, a few drops on a tissue in your pillowcase, or a sleep mask infused with calming scent.

Melatonin and other natural aids: what the evidence shows

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. In darkness, melatonin levels rise and help trigger sleep; light suppresses its release. Research reviews and clinical guidelines consistently emphasize that melatonin is a darkness signal to your internal clock rather than a sedative in itself.

A large double-blind, placebo-controlled trial summarized in an evidence-based review enrolled three hundred twenty travelers crossing six to eight time zones. Participants received different doses and formulations of melatonin or placebo. The group that took five milligrams of standard (immediate-release) melatonin at the target local bedtime fell asleep faster, slept better, and felt more energetic during the day compared with those taking slow-release melatonin, a lower dose, or placebo.

Other sources, including major medical centers, note that even lower doses, such as around half a milligram, can shift the circadian clock when taken at the correct time. Side effects are usually mild but can include dizziness, headaches, nausea, daytime sleepiness, or disorientation. Some countries restrict melatonin to prescription use for jet lag, and experts caution against combining it with alcohol or certain medications.

Because of these nuances, it is wise to talk with your health care provider before using melatonin regularly, especially if you have medical conditions, take other medicines, or are pregnant. The timing of melatonin relative to your travel direction and target sleep time matters as much as the dose, and a clinician can help you map this out.

A research summary on complementary approaches mentions other compounds such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and tyrosine. In one small trial, travelers who took twenty milligrams of NADH under the tongue on arrival performed better on short-term wakefulness and mental function tests than those taking placebo. In military studies, relatively large doses of tyrosine improved alertness under sleep deprivation. Magnesium, B-complex vitamins, and botanicals like Rhodiola rosea and L-theanine have also been proposed as supportive, primarily for energy or sleep quality. However, the evidence for these is modest compared with melatonin and far weaker than for light and behavioral strategies.

Natural does not automatically mean safe for everyone, so any supplement plan should be discussed with a clinician who understands your health history.

Aromatherapy, relaxation, and at-home wellness tools

Sleep clinics that address time-change adaptation often include relaxation techniques and aromatherapy as part of a holistic plan. Essential oils such as lavender, jasmine, chamomile, bergamot, rose, clary sage, neroli, sandalwood, ylang ylang, and vanilla are commonly used to ease anxiety and support sleep. People use them through diffusers, scented pillows or masks, or a few drops on a tissue tucked into the pillowcase.

From a circadian perspective, these tools do not shift your internal clock the way light and schedule changes do, but they can make it easier to relax into whatever bedtime you are targeting. For many travelers, having a familiar scent or wind-down routine becomes a comforting anchor in unfamiliar hotel rooms and time zones.

In the same spirit, at-home wellness tools, including red light therapy devices used for skin, joint, or muscle support, can be woven into a calming routine. The research summaries we have here focus on bright natural light and bright artificial light for shifting circadian timing, and they do not include clinical trials of red light therapy for jet lag. That means red light devices should be thought of as adjuncts rather than primary tools for resetting your internal clock.

If you already use a red light device as part of your wellness routine, you can continue it around travel. Many people like to schedule such sessions earlier in the evening or during daytime recovery periods, then reserve the last hour before sleep for a dim, low-stimulation environment that combines gentle breathing, perhaps a soothing scent, and minimal screen time. This respects what the evidence shows about light and circadian rhythms while allowing you to keep the practices that help you feel calm and cared for.

Twice a year in much of the United States, clocks jump forward or back by an hour. The spring transition to daylight saving time, when we lose an hour of sleep and mornings become darker, has been linked in epidemiologic research to short-term spikes in heart attacks, strokes, hospitalizations, mood disturbances, and fatal traffic accidents. Surveys by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggest that most Americans would prefer to eliminate these seasonal shifts, and many report feeling tired after the change.

Sleep scientists and major medical organizations largely favor permanent standard time rather than permanent daylight saving time. Modeling work from researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health indicates that permanent standard time, which structurally provides more morning light and less evening light, would reduce circadian burden and could slightly lower rates of obesity and stroke nationwide. Permanent daylight saving time still produces some benefit compared with frequent clock changes but less than permanent standard time.

For families, the time-change weeks can be especially rough on teenagers. Brown University researchers describe how teens’ biological clocks naturally shift later at puberty while early school start times and heavy evening demands lead to chronic sleep loss. Shorter sleep is linked to moodiness, poor impulse control, higher accident risk, and even higher suicide risk. Extra morning light during standard time provides a short window to help nudge teen schedules earlier.

The same principles you use for travel apply at home. In the week before a known clock change, gradually adjust bedtime and wake time by fifteen to thirty minutes in the direction of the change. On the weekend of the shift, set clocks ahead on Saturday evening but keep consistent bedtimes, then seek early morning light on Sunday and the days that follow. Try to keep weekend sleeping in to no more than about an hour beyond weekday wake time to avoid creating “social jet lag,” where late weekend schedules make Monday mornings feel like mini jet lag every week.

At home, basic sleep hygiene remains essential: keeping phones out of the bedroom at night, maintaining relatively consistent wake times, avoiding heavy late-night snacking, and modeling healthy sleep as adults so your children and teens can see it as normal.

When Time-Change Problems Signal Something More

For most people, jet lag and time-change fatigue fade within a few days to a couple of weeks once routines and light exposure stabilize. However, there are times when ongoing problems point to something beyond a temporary circadian disruption.

Travelers who cross time zones frequently, such as pilots, flight attendants, and global business travelers, may develop chronic sleep issues if their circadian rhythms are constantly pulled in different directions. Night-shift and rotating-shift workers face a similar challenge; medical summaries on shift work describe elevated risks of workplace accidents, drowsy driving, cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems, and mood disorders when sleep and work are misaligned for long periods.

If you experience persistent insomnia, severe daytime sleepiness, or mood changes that continue long after you return home or after the clocks have stabilized, it is important to talk with a clinician or sleep specialist. They can evaluate for conditions such as insomnia disorder, shift work disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, or mood disorders that may require specific treatment.

In some situations, people consider surgical or structural interventions, such as septoplasty to straighten a deviated nasal septum, hoping it will cure snoring or poor sleep. Ear, nose, and throat experts caution that septoplasty alone is rarely a complete solution for snoring or sleep apnea, because sleep disturbances usually have multiple causes, including airway anatomy, weight, sleep habits, and neurological factors. A sleep-focused evaluation helps ensure that any procedure you consider fits into an evidence-based plan rather than being viewed as a standalone cure.

Thoughtful man, broken clock, glowing brain; representing jet lag & time zone adjustment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it really take to adjust to a new time zone?

Most sleep and travel medicine sources suggest that your body may need about one day of adjustment for each hour of time difference. For a three-hour shift, that often means a few days of lingering sleepiness or odd wake times. For a nine-hour overseas trip, it can take a week or more. That said, your actual experience depends on your age, baseline sleep, stress levels, health conditions, and how actively you use strategies like schedule shifts, light exposure, and sleep hygiene. Many travelers find that using these tools shortens the adjustment period compared with doing nothing.

Is it ever better not to adjust to the new time zone?

For trips that last only one to three days, particularly for three-hour domestic time differences, it can be more practical to keep your body on your home time zone. Several hospital and public-health guides advise this “two-day rule.” If you fly from California to the East Coast for a two-day business trip, you might schedule your most demanding activities for late morning or afternoon Eastern time, which corresponds to your usual peak hours back home, and maintain a slightly later bedtime locally. When trips are longer or when you cross many time zones, fully adjusting to local time becomes more important.

Does red light therapy cure jet lag?

The research summaries referenced here focus on natural daylight, bright indoor light, schedule changes, and melatonin as the primary tools for managing jet lag and time-zone changes. They do not include controlled trials of red light therapy specifically for jet lag. This means the strongest evidence we have today supports strategic exposure to bright light at the right times, gradual schedule shifts, healthy sleep practices, and, in some cases, carefully timed melatonin under medical guidance.

At-home red light therapy devices can still play a supportive role in your broader wellness routine, particularly for relaxation or recovery from travel-related muscle tension. They simply should not replace the core circadian strategies outlined above. If you enjoy using red light therapy, consider pairing it with evidence-based practices: use your device at a time that fits your overall routine, then prioritize dim, calm evenings with limited screen exposure and plenty of morning daylight to help your internal clock reset.

Adapting to time zone changes is not about chasing a miracle cure; it is about working with your biology instead of against it. By respecting your body’s need for sleep, using light intentionally, tending to hydration and movement, being thoughtful with melatonin and other aids, and layering in calming wellness practices, you can make even big clock shifts gentler on your brain and body. My goal is for you to feel not just “functional” after a time change, but genuinely well enough to enjoy the trip, perform at your best, and come home feeling like yourself again.