Jet Lag Planner — Free Travel Sleep Schedule Calculator

✈️ Jet Lag Planner

Plan sleep, light, meals, and caffeine around a long-distance flight. The schedule is an educational planning aid, not medical advice.

Your trip summary

—Route and local time difference

—Clock adjustment

—Approximate adjustment window

—Time zones crossed

Estimated adjustment progress0%

Estimated adjustment progress based on a typical traveler.

Calendar file: flight departure and arrival are exact moments. Plan items use floating local time, so they appear at the clock time shown for that day, in whatever time zone your calendar is set to. Until you land, they may look offset from the flight events.

Safety note: This planner uses general circadian principles. Light timing can be inappropriate for some conditions or medications. Do not use the melatonin suggestion as a dose recommendation; ask a doctor or pharmacist about whether melatonin is appropriate for you. If you have a sleep disorder, are pregnant, take medicines that interact with light or melatonin, or have another medical condition, get individualized advice.

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How the Jet Lag Planner works

Jet lag occurs when your internal body clock is out of sync with the local time after rapid travel across time zones. Light is one of the strongest signals for the circadian clock, so the timing of light exposure, sleep, meals, and caffeine can help structure an adjustment plan.

This tool is intended for travelers who want a practical schedule around a flight. Individual adjustment varies, and the schedule should not replace advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

Why jet lag happens

Your body runs on a circadian clock of about 24 hours that is kept in time mainly by light. When you fly across time zones, the local day changes instantly but your clock does not. For a few days you feel sleepy at the wrong time, wake in the night, and have less appetite and concentration at the right time. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, sometimes slower, so a six-hour change can take most of a week.

Eastbound and westbound are different

Flying east means your day gets shorter and you must go to sleep earlier than your body wants. Flying west makes the day longer, which is usually easier because most people find it easier to stay up late than to fall asleep early. This is why many travellers find eastbound trips harder. Our step-by-step guides cover both: eastbound jet lag schedule and westbound jet lag schedule.

The signals the planner organises

Light: bright light in the morning pushes your clock earlier, and bright light in the evening pushes it later. Getting the timing wrong can slow adjustment, so it matters for large time changes.
Sleep: sleeping on the new local schedule as soon as practical, with short naps if needed, helps the clock catch up. See the best nap length.
Meals: regular meal times at the destination act as a secondary clock signal.
Caffeine: useful for alertness during the day, but harmful when taken too close to the new bedtime. See how long caffeine stays in your system.

Practical tips

Start shifting your sleep by 30 to 60 minutes a day for a few days before you leave if you can, drink water on the flight, and go outdoors in daylight at your destination. After a long flight, keep any first-day nap short, around 20 minutes, so you can still sleep at the local bedtime. The planner gives a practical schedule, but individual adjustment varies, and it is general information, not medical advice. If you take medicines on a timed schedule, or have a health condition, ask a doctor or pharmacist how to handle time zone changes.