Shift your sleep before you fly
3 days before a long eastward flight, go to bed 1 hour earlier each night. For westward, go to bed 1 hour later.
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GPhC Registered Pharmacy
Yellow Fever Centre
Same Day Appointments
No Consultation Fees
10,000+ Patients Served
GPhC Registered Pharmacy
Yellow Fever Centre
Same Day Appointments
No Consultation Fees
10,000+ Patients Served
Same-day assessment
Assessed by our pharmacist and, where appropriate, treated in one 10-minute appointment.
No GP referral needed
Our pharmacist prescribes directly. In and out in 10 minutes.
Free consultation
Travel health advice at no charge. Any treatment cost is confirmed during your appointment.
Proven by clinical trials
Multiple RCTs confirm that the right interventions reduce jet lag severity and recovery time.
Why Your Body Struggles to Adjust
Jet lag is a biological problem — not just tiredness. Understanding it helps you treat it.
Introduction
Your body's internal clock — the circadian rhythm — is controlled by light and regulated by the body's natural sleep hormone, produced by your pineal gland after dark. When you cross multiple time zones rapidly, your clock is still set to home time:
Symptoms
your body is producing its sleep hormone at the wrong moment for your new location, leaving you wide awake at 3am or struggling to stay conscious at dinner.
Serious Progression
Eastward travel is harder than westward because your body naturally runs on a cycle slightly longer than 24 hours — it's biologically easier to stay up later (west: New York, LA) than to fall asleep earlier (east: Dubai, Bangkok, Tokyo). Crossing 8–11 zones east, as on a London–Sydney flight, can take 5–7 days to fully adjust without intervention.
Prevention & Treatment
Taking the body's natural sleep hormone at your destination's bedtime signals to your body that it's night, accelerating resynchronisation. Clinical trials show it reduces adjustment time by 1–2 days and significantly reduces symptom severity. Your clinician can discuss a treatment option timed to your route at your consultation.
How Bad Will Your Jet Lag Be?
The more time zones you cross, the worse the adjustment. Eastward travel is typically harder than westward.
RouteTime zonesTypical experience
London → New York5 zones westDifficulty waking, afternoon fatigue
London → Dubai3 zones eastEarly waking, difficulty sleeping
London → Bangkok6 zones eastEarly waking, daytime fatigue first 3 days
London → Sydney9–11 zones eastStrongest jet lag — 4–7 days adjustment
London → Los Angeles8 zones westSleeping late, can't wake in the morning
London → Tokyo8–9 zones eastEarly waking, fatigue by early evening
Beat Jet Lag Faster
These strategies work best together. Our pharmacist will walk you through all of them at your consultation.
Avoid alcohol on the flight
Alcohol dehydrates and disrupts sleep quality. Stick to water — you'll feel dramatically better on arrival.
Seek light at the right time
Eastward travel: get morning light at your destination. Westward: seek afternoon/evening light. Light is the strongest signal to reset your body clock.
Time your sleep cues to the destination
Shift your sleep schedule and light exposure to your destination's clock; your clinician can also discuss a treatment option at your consultation.
The most evidence-backed strategies are timed light exposure, pre-flight sleep-shifting, and staying well hydrated. Seeking morning light on eastward trips and evening light on westward trips helps reset your circadian rhythm. A clinician can also discuss a treatment option tailored to your route at your consultation.
Other Services for Long-Haul Travellers
Most long-haul trips also require malaria tablets and travel vaccines — we can cover everything in one visit.
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Travel Consultation
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Book Your Jet Lag Consultation
Assessed and, where appropriate, treated in one visit. Call 0207 405 1039 or book online.