Plan a jet lag recovery schedule using light exposure and sleep timing.
Shifting bedtime before departure removes zones from the recovery burden directly. Light timing matters more than any other intervention, and getting the direction wrong delays adjustment rather than helping. When the trip is shorter than the adjustment period, staying on home time avoids adjusting twice for no benefit.
Jet Lag Recovery
Recovery days = zones remaining after pre-adjustment ÷ shift rate per day
Recovery days = zones remaining after pre-adjustment ÷ shift rate per day Shifting bedtime before departure removes zones from the recovery burden directly. Light timing matters more than any other intervention, and getting the direction wrong delays adjustment rather than helping.
When the trip is shorter than the adjustment period, staying on home time avoids adjusting twice for no benefit.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Time zones crossed, Direction of travel, Days of pre-adjustment before travel, Body clock shift per day, Trip length. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.