What should you know about Dave Asprey's jet lag advice?

Jet lag occurs when your body clock is out of step with the local time after crossing time zones. The mismatch can cause difficulty sleeping at the new bedtime, waking early, daytime sleepiness, reduced concentration and headache. Advice associated with Dave Asprey often focuses on planned light exposure, sleep timing and body-clock habits. These approaches may feel useful, but responses vary with the direction of travel, number of time zones crossed, age, health conditions and medicines. Jet lag is different from a persistent sleep disorder such as insomnia.

Use the destination's daytime and nighttime schedule as soon as practical. Seek outdoor light at an appropriate local time, keep naps short if you need one, and protect the new sleep period with a dark, quiet room. Drink water, eat lightly if your stomach is unsettled, and avoid alcohol before sleep. Do not drive or make safety-critical decisions while very sleepy. Melatonin or sleeping medicines are not suitable for everyone; discuss timing, interactions and next-day effects with a clinician before using them. A travel health consultation can help if the itinerary is demanding.

Contact a clinician if sleep disruption continues after you have adjusted to local time, repeatedly affects work or driving, or comes with severe headache, confusion, fainting, chest pain or breathing difficulty. New symptoms should not automatically be attributed to jet lag. Seek urgent care for sudden neurological symptoms or an inability to stay awake safely.

Ask when to seek light for your route, whether your medicines change the plan, and whether melatonin is appropriate. If you already have insomnia or another sleep condition, ask how to distinguish it from temporary jet lag and whether insomnia management would help.