Why jet lag is worse from east to west?

A study published in 2016 crunched the numbers on why travelling east is worse for jet lag. In short, your body’s natural rhythm follows a 24.5-hour day, slightly longer than the standard 24-hour sun-up, sun-down rhythm. That means that if you’re travelling east over many timezones, you’ll ‘lose’ additional time.

Why is jet lag harder going east?

lane travel that crosses three or more time zones causes jet lag. Most people find that jet lag is worse when traveling east than it is when traveling west13. Jet lag differs based on the direction of travel because it’s generally easier to delay your internal clock than advance it.

Is jet lag better east or west?

The verdict: Traveling several time zones to the east causes worse jet lag than flying the same number of time zones west, and although the precise mechanism isn’t known, it probably reflects the greater difficulty of advancing rather than delaying the body’s internal clock.

Why is it easier to travel West than East?

“This is all because the body’s internal clock has a natural period of slightly longer than 24 hours, which means that it has an easier time traveling west and lengthening the day than traveling east and shortening the day,” Dr. Girvan said.

Is it harder traveling east or west?

Experienced air travelers know that flying east across time zones is harder than flying west, because traveling east shortens the days while traveling west lengthens them. It means your circadian rhythm needs to do more to catch up.

Why does jet lag occur?

Jet lag can occur anytime you cross two or more time zones. Jet lag occurs because crossing multiple time zones puts your internal clock (circadian rhythms), which regulates your sleep-wake cycle, out of sync with the time in your new locale.

Why do we feel jet lagged when we travel across the international date line?

Jet lag is a physiological condition that results from alterations to the body’s circadian rhythms caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian (east–west or west–east) travel.

What causes jet lag?

Why is jet lag worse in the east?

Jet lag may be the worst part of traveling. And it hits many people harder traveling east than west. Why they feel this way is unclear. But scientists recently developed a model that mimics special time-keeping cells in the body and offers a mathematical explanation for why traveling from west to east feels so much worse.

Why is it harder to travel east than West?

And it hits many people harder traveling east than west. Why they feel this way is unclear. But scientists recently developed a model that mimics special time-keeping cells in the body and offers a mathematical explanation for why traveling from west to east feels so much worse. It also offers insights on recovering from jet lag.

How long does it take to get over jet lag?

Another jet lag study published in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine supports this softly-softly approach, and posits that most travellers can push their body clock back by two hours a day, which suggests it would take four days to get over jet lag and adjust to normal waking and sleeping hours in Italy.

Why does the day get longer when you travel?

“This is all because the body’s internal clock has a natural period of slightly longer than 24 hours, which means that it has an easier time traveling west and lengthening the day than traveling east and shortening the day,” Dr. Girvan said. Jet lag can be resolved by matching your internal clock to your destination’s clock as soon as possible.