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Jet Lag Recovery Calculator

Plan a jet lag recovery schedule using light exposure and sleep timing.

About Jet Lag Recovery Calculator

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.

Formula

Jet Lag Recovery

Recovery days = zones remaining after pre-adjustment ÷ shift rate per day

pre-adjustment
Shifting sleep timing before departure
light exposure
The strongest cue for resetting the body clock

Worked example

With the default values below, Jet Lag Recovery Calculator returns Days to Full Adjustment of 3.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Time zones crossedaccepts 0–14
6
Direction of travelone of Eastward, Westward
Eastward
Days of pre-adjustment before travelaccepts 0–14 days
3 days
Body clock shift per dayaccepts 0.25–3 h
1 h
Trip lengthaccepts 1–365 days
9 days

Results

Days to Full Adjustment
3.00 days
Zones Remaining After Pre-Adjustment
3.00
Days at the Destination Fully Adjusted
6.00 days
Light Exposure Guidance
Seek bright morning light at the destination and avoid it in the evening
Recommendation
Recovery plan is workable for this trip length

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Jet Lag Recovery
  3. 3Days to Full Adjustment= 3.00 days
  4. 4Zones Remaining After Pre-Adjustment= 3.00
  5. 5Days at the Destination Fully Adjusted= 6.00 days
  6. 6Light Exposure Guidance= Seek bright morning light at the destination and avoid it in the evening
  7. 7Recommendation= Recovery plan is workable for this trip length

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Jet Lag Recovery calculated?

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.

Why does Jet Lag Recovery matter?

When the trip is shorter than the adjustment period, staying on home time avoids adjusting twice for no benefit.

What values do I need to enter?

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.

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