Jet Lag West to East

Category: Health

Jet lag west to east Travelling eastward across multiple time zones generates more severe jet lag compared to westward travel. This is due to our circadian rhythms finding it easier to delay (stay up longer) compared to advance (get up earlier). Your body clock has a tendency to run slightly longer than 24 hours, says physician Vivek Jain of the Center for Sleep Disorders at the George Washington Hospital. Each morning, your body compensates for this slight discrepancy by contracting your internal clock to synchronize with the 24-hour day light cycle. When you travel west, you gain several hours, so your day is extended and your body gets the extra time it naturally wants. But when you travel east, your day is shortened; and makes it harder to adjust, because your body has to cut its natural cycle even further, Jain says. Research suggests you can push your body clock back about two hours per day, meaning that you can adjust from Washington time to Colorado time in a single day, but you can move your body clock forward (as when you travel from California to Washington) only by an hour to an hour and a half each 24-hour period, Jain says. Re-Timer is a natural therapy device used to combat the effects of jet lag. Read these tips to help reduce jet lag The information contained on this website is not intended to be used as medical information or as a substitute for your own health professional’s advice. As a matter of good practice we recommend you seek the advice of your health professional before selecting a light device.