Jet lag from Tokyo to Chicago: what to expect

How long does jet lag last from Tokyo to Chicago?

Unaided, eastward shifts settle at around a day per time zone: about 9 days for this one. S6 S7

This plan targets 8 days.

That's what the plan aims at, not a promise — bodies vary.

For this trip that's 1 day sooner than the unaided estimate, on the effort level that fits around a working day.

On night one the plan has you sleep 09:00–14:25, a daytime sleep in Chicago; for your body it's midnight in Tokyo. From there the bedtime pulls earlier night by night, reaching 23:00 by night 10.

Studies of aircrew point the same way: after large shifts, westward adaptation runs roughly 50% faster than eastward S6 S8. This trip is on the slow side of that.

What does the plan say for a typical Tokyo to Chicago flight?

Departs

09:45 Tokyo time

Lands

07:30 Chicago time

In the air

about 12h 45m (estimate)

Light, landing day

14:25–15:25 Get outside into bright light

Keep it dim, landing day

22:25–00:25 Avoid bright light before bed

Last caffeine, landing day

17:30

First night's sleep

09:00–14:25 the morning you land

Eastbound long-hauls tend to land in the morning, so this example lands in Chicago at 07:30, leaving Tokyo at 09:45 the day before, after about 12h 45m in the air.

The flight time is our estimate for a nonstop from the distance, and the trip is set in January. It's the default traveler from the calculator: usually asleep 23:00 to 07:00, no melatonin, Real Life effort.

You cross the date line going the other way, so you land on the same date you took off, at an earlier clock time than you left.

In July the gap is 10 hours, not 9, because Chicago moves its clocks and Tokyo doesn't.

On board, the plan keeps you awake apart from a short nap at 21:10 Chicago time, saving the real sleep for the night in Chicago.

The day before you fly, the plan starts with light at 07:00–08:00 Tokyo time, after sunrise in Tokyo in January (about 06:46), so a walk outside covers it.

January days are short in Chicago: about 10 hours of daylight. In January the sun is up in Chicago from about 07:13 to 16:50, so the 14:25 light step on landing day is daylight. Outside is the easy way to get it.

What helps after flying east to Chicago?

Going east, you want light after your body's low point and darkness before it S1. In the first days after a big shift that often means sunglasses in the morning and the early afternoon outside. Why flying east is harder goes through the mechanism.

Melatonin has its best trial results on eastward flights across five or more time zones S5. It's a timing signal, not a sleeping pill: melatonin for jet lag covers when to take it. Check with your doctor first.

And the flight home from Chicago?

Chicago to Tokyo is the same 9 hours the other way, westward. It's the easier direction: about 6 days unaided, and the plan targets 5. Jet lag from Chicago to Tokyo has the details.

More routes from Tokyo

• Tokyo to London
• Tokyo to Los Angeles
• Tokyo to Istanbul
• Tokyo to New York
• Tokyo to Toronto