Jet lag guides

What the research says, in plain words, with every source linked.

• Flying east is harder, and a 24.2-hour body clock is the reason

  Why jet lag is worse flying east: your body clock runs slightly long, so pushing it later is easy and pulling it earlier is not. What that means on arrival.

• Jet lag with kids: the science is written for adults, so plan around the grown-ups

  What carries over from adult jet lag research to children, what nobody has measured yet, and how to plan a family trip around that gap.

• Melatonin isn't a sleeping pill — it's a timing signal. Taken at the wrong time, it pushes your clock the wrong way.

  Melatonin for jet lag: what the trials found, which dose, and when to take it flying east or west. The wrong time can push your body clock the wrong way.

• Most jet lag hacks fix the wrong problem. A few actually work.

  Staying up till local bedtime, chugging water, fasting, wine on the plane: which jet lag hacks hold up against the research, and which just feel productive.

Or skip the reading: get a plan for your flight.

Flying a specific route? See jet lag by route: what to expect on the big long-haul routes, in both directions.