How to reduce jet lag when flying east

Shift bedtime, waking, and meals earlier over several days if your commitments allow. At the destination, use daylight and activity to reinforce local morning, then reduce bright light as local bedtime approaches.

Eastward travel advances local time, asking the body to become sleepy and wake earlier than its internal clock expects. This can produce difficulty falling asleep at destination bedtime, trouble waking, daytime sleepiness, reduced focus, headache, or digestive changes.

Light is a powerful clock-setting cue, but its effect depends on timing. Morning light commonly supports an earlier schedule, while strong evening light can encourage a later one. For large time-zone changes, the ideal window can be less intuitive, so personalised advice may help.

Protect sleep before the trip rather than starting already deprived. Move your routine earlier in manageable increments, dim household light before the new bedtime, and get outdoor light after waking. During the flight, align eating and intended sleep with destination time, use an eye mask for planned rest, drink regularly, and limit alcohol.

After arrival, wake at a consistent local time and eat breakfast even if appetite is shifted. A short early nap may restore alertness, but a long or late nap can make local bedtime harder. Keep caffeine away from the intended sleep period, and avoid driving whenever drowsiness affects concentration.

Melatonin is a timing signal rather than a simple sedative. Because the wrong timing may shift the clock in an unwanted direction, seek advice before using it, particularly if pregnant, managing a long-term condition, or taking prescription medicines.

Seek urgent care for severe breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, seizure, new one-sided weakness, or persistent confusion. Sudden breathing difficulty combined with pain or swelling in one leg after travel also needs urgent attention.

Book a non-urgent review when disrupted sleep persists beyond adjustment to local time, seriously affects work or mood, or happens repeatedly without travel. Breathing pauses during sleep, troublesome restless legs, or regular dependence on sedatives may point to a separate sleep problem.

Ask how to time light for your departure and destination, whether melatonin is suitable, and how to shift medicines that must be taken at set intervals. Provide flight times, time zones, stopovers, usual sleep hours, and safety-critical duties after arrival.