YUCTS Tools

Jet Lag Planner (Pre-Trip Sleep Schedule)

From your departure and destination time zones, departure time and usual sleep hours, builds an example plan that shifts your sleep by 1 hour per day before the trip, based on CDC information. Not medical advice.

  • Runs in your browser with cited reference data

A time before noon is treated as after midnight.

The CDC describes shifting sleep by 1 hour per day in the 2–3 days before the trip.

For trips shorter than 2 days, the CDC advises not adapting to the new time zone.
This plan is an example based on general public-health information and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant, or are considering sleep medication or melatonin, talk to a doctor or another health professional.

Reading today’s date…

How to use

  1. Choose the departure and destination time zones and the departure date and time.
  2. Enter your usual bedtime and wake-up time and how many days to adjust before leaving (0–3).
  3. See the bed and wake times for each night and tips for after arrival. Save the plan as text or as a calendar file (ICS).

FAQ

What is the difference between flying east and west?

If the destination clock is ahead (eastward), you go to bed and wake up earlier; if it is behind (westward), later. According to the CDC, people adapt on average by about 1 hour per day eastward and 1.5 hours per day westward.

Should I adjust for a short trip?

For trips shorter than 2 days, the CDC advises not adapting to the new time zone. Tick “Short stay” to get a plan that keeps you on home time.

Notes & limitations

  • What you enter is processed only on this page and is not sent to YUCTS servers.
  • This plan is not medical advice. If you have a health condition or use medication or supplements (such as melatonin), ask a doctor. The tool does not suggest any medication.
  • The 1-hour-per-day method and the adaptation estimate are averages from general CDC Yellow Book 2026 information; results and the time needed vary between people.
  • The time difference uses the time-zone offsets at departure. Fine-tuning such as light timing based on the number of time zones crossed is not calculated.

Data sources