The Best Way to Beat Jet Lag
You don’t have to power through those zombie-like feelings anymore.
When traveling, the biggest hurdle for me is the journey to the destination. I am not a big fan of air travel, and it gives me the type of anxiety where I cannot focus on enjoying the trip until I have reached my destination. As a result of this, I have never put too much thought into how jetlag will affect me when I arrive. In the past, I have just put up with the effects of jetlag and powered through the zombie-like feelings until I eventually adjust. In June I took my first long-haul trip since 2019. It was a relatively short vacation to the United States from New Zealand that was just over a week long. Due to the short length of my vacation and the number of activities I had planned, including my friend’s wedding one day after landing, I did not have time to be jet lagged. A few colleagues of mine strongly recommended I explore Timeshifter, and the results were incredible.
What is Timeshifter?
Timeshifter is a jetlag app designed to help you gradually shift your time zone before your departure date so that you are fully integrated into the time zone when you arrive.
How does it work?
Timeshifter focuses on the elements known to reset the circadian clock and provides personalized advice to users. You provide information on your regular caffeine intake, use of melatonin, your sleep schedule, and your chronotype. You then enter all of the flights involved in your round trip and the dates and times you will be traveling. After providing this information Timesifter provides you with an easy-to-follow personalized plan on how to shift your circadian rhythm.
My experience
The shifting of my circadian rhythm began 3 days before my trip, the plan was displayed to me in an intuitive and easy-to-follow visual plan on my mobile device, and I also had push notifications enabled so I could see when I was moving into a new phase. I was told when I should consume caffeine, when to avoid and expose myself to sunlight, and when to go to sleep and wake up.
When I first saw my plan I was worried that it would be too much for me to remember, but if you only look at the plan you need to focus on on the day and enable push notifications it is easily manageable. Another slightly difficult element to consider is that sometimes you will be advised to go to sleep at strange hours. There was one day I was advised to have a nap at 2pm, which was right in the middle of my work day. I managed to push this out to 3pm when I had a break and the results were still positive.
Overall, this app was an incredible help to me and ensured that I was fully adjusted to the timezone of my destination when I arrived. I experienced no jet lag which meant I was able to be fully present and not too tired to party and celebrate my friend’s big day. A fantastic part about the app is that your first trip is free, this includes the entire trip and allows for flight adjustments. After your first trip, you can subscribe to the app for USD 24.99 a year for unlimited plans. This is a cost I would be more than willing to pay for future trips.
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Timeshifter, just a very satisfied consumer.
