How to Beat Jet Lag | What to Do Before You Fly, on the Plane and After You Land
You land abroad with something important the next day, and you're too sleepy to think. Jet lag isn't only about your constitution; how you prepare makes it much milder. This guide explains why jet lag happens and lays out what to do, in order, from before departure until after you arrive.
Why jet lag happens
Your body has an internal clock that runs sleepiness, body temperature, hormone release and more on a roughly daily cycle. This clock is reset every day using light as its cue, but when you travel quickly by plane, the light and dark outside fall out of step with your internal clock. That is why you are wide awake when you should be sleeping and sleepy when you should be active.
- Can't sleep or keep waking up: night at your destination is daytime for your body
- Strong sleepiness in the daytime: by your internal clock it is the middle of the night
- No appetite or an upset stomach: digestion also follows your internal clock
- Can't concentrate or think clearly: lack of sleep and the clock mismatch add up
The mismatch is generally said to resolve at about one hour per day. With a 7-hour time difference, doing nothing would take close to a week. If you are only staying a few days, waiting for it to fix itself isn't a workable plan.
Flying east and flying west call for different approaches
Even with the same time difference, how hard it feels depends on the direction. The human internal clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours, so travel that makes the day longer — that is, heading west — is said to be easier to adjust to.
| Direction | What your clock must do | Difficulty | Basic approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westbound (Japan → Europe or the US) | Shift later | Relatively easy | Stay up until the local evening |
| Eastbound (the US or Europe → Japan) | Shift earlier | Often hard | Get morning light early |
| North–south only (e.g. Southeast Asia) | Hardly needed | Mild | Focus on recovering from travel fatigue |
Whether your trip is east or west shows in the sign of the time difference. The World Time Zones page lists the current time in major cities and how far ahead or behind Tokyo they are. Going from Japan to a city behind Tokyo calls for the westbound approach; going to a city ahead of it calls for the eastbound one. If you are starting from somewhere else, compare with your own home time in the same way.
Before you leave
- 1
Check the local time
How you spend arrival day depends on whether you land in the local morning or at night. Before you leave, know your arrival time in local time.
- 2
Shift your sleep a few days ahead
For a westbound trip, go to bed and get up 30 minutes to an hour later each day; for an eastbound trip, the same amount earlier. Starting three days ahead brings you 1 to 3 hours closer.
- 3
Don't set off short of sleep
Staying up late packing the night before stacks sleep loss on top of jet lag. Finish your preparations two days before.
- 4
Keep the first day light
Simply not scheduling an important meeting right after arrival reduces the impact a lot. If possible, leave the morning after your travel day free too.
Shifting your sleep earlier or later is hard to do much of when you have your usual commitments. Writing down how you spend your weekdays makes it easier to see where in the week you have room to move things. How to visualise your 24 hours is also covered in our time allocation articles.
On the plane
- Set your watch to local time when you board, and make every decision after that by local time
- Sleep during the part of the flight that is night at your destination; don't force yourself to sleep during what is daytime there
- Drink water often. Dry air makes you feel worse and makes your sleep lighter
- Go easy on alcohol and caffeine. They don't help you fall asleep and they lower sleep quality
- Eat on local time: match meals to when you would eat at your destination, not when they are served
- Avoid sitting still the whole time and walk the aisle. It reduces swelling and fatigue
The single most effective thing on the plane is to switch your watch to local time. As long as you keep thinking about “what time it is back home”, your behaviour stays tied to home time. Simply deciding to live on local time from the moment you board makes the switch after arrival faster.
What to do in the first three days after arrival
| Time | Westbound (shift your clock later) | Eastbound (shift your clock earlier) |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Don't force yourself to get up early | Get up, go outside and get morning light |
| Midday | Be active outdoors | Be active outdoors |
| Evening | Spend time somewhere bright | Avoid strong light and keep rooms dim |
| Night | Stay up until local bedtime | Go to bed early |
| Naps | Up to 20–30 minutes | Up to 20–30 minutes, none from the evening on |
Light is the strongest cue for moving your internal clock. Outdoor daylight is many times brighter than indoor lighting, so just building a walk or an outdoor meal into your schedule helps. On the other hand, bright light before bed pushes your clock later, so be especially careful when flying east.
- On the first day, don't fight a nap too hard, but cut it off within 30 minutes
- Match mealtimes to local time. Meals are also a cue that moves your internal clock
- Add light exercise in the morning. It helps you wake up and makes it easier to fall asleep at night
- If you wake in the night, don't stare at a bright smartphone screen for long
- Use the same steps to readjust after you return. Dealing with the outbound trip and ignoring the return will affect your normal work
How to plan your schedule
Half of beating jet lag is done when you plan your schedule. Just not putting anything that needs sharp judgement right after arrival avoids situations where feeling off that day directly affects the outcome.
- 1
Check your arrival time in local time
If you land late at night, start the next day in the afternoon; if you land in the morning, begin the first day with light plans.
- 2
Put important events on day three or later
Your internal clock adapts at roughly one hour per day. With a time difference of a few hours, you'll be mostly back on track within 2 to 3 days.
- 3
Decide meeting times with home at the same time
The hours when daytime at your destination overlaps with daytime at home are limited. Compare the current time at both ends and choose a time that is reasonable for everyone.
- 4
Leave room in your schedule after you return
Just not booking anything important on the morning after you get back lowers the chance of mistakes.
When you want to see your destination's time and Tokyo time together, use the World Time Zones page. It lists the current time in major cities alongside their difference from Tokyo, so you can tell on the spot whether the other side is within working hours. A practical process for scheduling across time zones is covered in how to choose meeting times with overseas teams.
FAQ
- How many days does jet lag take to go away?
- The internal clock mismatch generally resolves at about one hour per day, so a 7-hour time difference would take close to a week. Measures such as shifting your sleep before you leave and getting morning light after arrival can shorten this. For a stay of only a few days, it is more realistic to adjust your schedule than to wait for it to pass naturally.
- Which is harder, flying east or flying west?
- Flying east, which requires shifting your clock earlier, is generally considered harder. The human internal clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours, so westbound travel, which makes the day longer, is easier to adapt to. From Japan, flying to Europe or North America is westbound, and flying home from there is eastbound.
- Is it OK to sleep on the day I arrive?
- If it is night locally, that's fine. If it is daytime, keep it to a nap of 20–30 minutes. Sleeping longer makes it hard to fall asleep at night, and the mismatch carries over into the following days. When you are very sleepy, walking outside wakes you up faster than staying in your room.
- Where can I check the time difference?
- The World Time Zones page lists the current time in major cities and their difference from Tokyo. Heading to a city behind Tokyo calls for the westbound approach, and a city ahead of it the eastbound one. When choosing meeting times, compare the current time at both ends and pick a time within the other side's working hours.
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