Today is a glorious day in London- blue skies, warm air, the kind of light that makes you forget why anyone ever chases the sun elsewhere. But August is peak holiday time, and with every trip abroad comes the hidden tax on your body clock: jet lag. A few years ago I’d accept it as inevitable— falling asleep too early, waking up at ridiculous hours, going grocery shopping with the children at 4am!.
Today is a glorious day in London- blue skies, warm air, the kind of light that makes you forget why anyone ever chases the sun elsewhere. But August is peak holiday time, and with every trip abroad comes the hidden tax on your body clock: jet lag. A few years ago I’d accept it as inevitable— falling asleep too early, waking up at ridiculous hours, going grocery shopping with the children at 4am!. Now I know jet lag is not inevitable. It’s physics and biology. If you know how light and food reset your inner clock, you can bend time to your advantage! Let’s dive in...
Where insight becomes impact
What I’ve been looking at this week…
Your body runs on a circadian rhythm—a roughly 24-hour cycle (plus 15 minutes) generated by your brain’s master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This clock synchronises to external cues called zeitgebers—mainly light and food. Here's what happens when you travel:
Travel east (phase advance): You “lose light hours.” At your destination, sunrise happens earlier than your body expects. That means mornings feel brutal—you struggle to wake because your body still thinks it’s the middle of the night. By evening, you’re already crashing into bed too early compared to local time.
TravelTravel west (phase delay): You “gain light hours.” At your destination, sunrise happens later than your body expects. That means you stay up too late at night because your body still thinks it’s earlier, and then you want to sleep in too long the next morning.
🕒 East = hard to wake in the morning, sleepy too early at night. 🕘 West = stay up too late at night, sleep in too long in the morning. Estimates show we shift about 1 hour per day east and 1.5 hours per day west - which means if you're travelling to a time zone with a 7 hour difference it can take 7 days for your body to adjust- by which time it might be time for your return trip and adjusting all over again!
Here’s the good news: you can speed up the adjustment. How? By using light and food as your levers. Light resets your brain’s clock, while carbohydtates reset your liver clock. Together, they align your circadian system faster.
And here’s why it matters. Jet lag isn’t just about feeling groggy at a meeting or falling asleep at dinner on the beach. Circadian disruption has been shown to:
Shrink the hippocampus (your brain’s learning and memory centre). Impair short-term memory and slow reaction times — the cognitive equivalent of being mildly intoxicated.
Raise long-term risks of cancer and diabetes through disrupted melatonin (the hormone that triggers sleep), altered glucose metabolism, and increased inflammation.
So countering jet lag isn’t indulgent—it’s protective. You’re not just reclaiming alertness; you’re defending your brain and your future.
Track it to hack it.
What I’ve been monitoring this week…
On my India trip this month, here’s what I packed and why:
Blue-blocking glasses → block stimulating wavelengths in the evening, allowing melatonin to rise so you feel sleepy at local bedtime.
Blue-stimulating glasses → emit short-wavelength blue light in the morning, helping suppress residual melatonin and shift your brain clock to “morning mode.”
Melatonin (3mg) → useful eastbound, taken at new local bedtime to accelerate circadian advance.
Travel comfort kit → a supportive head pillow, oversized eye mask, and ear plugs. Comfort matters because minimising micro-disturbances (light leaks, noise, poor neck position) reduces sleep fragmentation.
Oura → to track HRV, REM, and sleep latency—helpful for seeing how you're responding to time travel!.
CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) → optional, but can help check if carb timing (morning vs evening) is shifting metabolic clocks
From knowing to doing.
What this means for YOU…
Here's your Jet Lag Prevention Protocol- save it for your next trip!
Eastward Travel Westward Travel Day of Hard to wake in the morning, Stay up too late at night, sleep in Arrival sleepy too early at night. too long in the morning. Push the clock forward Goal Delay the clock (later) (advance) Light Maximise bright light at new Increase bright light in the wake time – this stops evening – this tells the brain to melatonin production. stay awake.
Take a morning walk or put on Put on blue light stimulators in blue light stimulators. the evening..
Reduce evening light with blue Keep light dim in the early blocker glasses or dim lighting morning- avoid early bright light exposure - put on blue blocker after dusk- this signals the body glasses or sunglasses in the to prepare for earlier sleep. morning Carbohydrate-rich breakfast Carbohydrates within 30 min of within 30 min of waking – this new wake time - this resets the anchors metabolism to the start liver clock, syncing metabolism of the day. to local time. Food Late, carbohydrate dinner ~2h Avoid late caffeine. before new bedtime – insulin rise supports tryptophan, serotonin Early, light, protein-rich dinner. and melatonin for an easier sleep onset. 1-5mg melatonin at new local No melatonin- use light + food as Supplements bedtime primary cues
More tips: Day Before Travel: Get morning sunlight within 30 mins of waking Go to bed 60 minutes earlier No caffeine after midday No alcohol
Day Of Travel: Hydrate every hour Eat at destination mealtime Block blue light at destination dusk If arriving in the day: seek bright light If arriving at night: eye mask, ear plugs
Remember: Jet lag isn’t a mystery. It’s misplaced light and mistimed meals. When you master those two levers, you stop fighting time zones and start aligning with them.
💼 Case in point: Testing Melatonin One of my clients, a global CEO, couldn’t understand why he felt jet-lagged for days even on short trips. We ran a series of melatonin hormone profiles—a test I often use—and found his melatonin surge was delayed by 3 hours compared to average. This is the hormone that triggers you to fall asleep - it's your sleep switch. With his data, we timed his light exposure and carb intake precisely. The result? On his next trip to New York, he was leading meetings on day one instead of fighting fatigue. Test, don’t guess—that’s how you make jet lag optional, not inevitable.
🎯 If you're a frequent traveller and want to discuss ways to minimise jet lag and it's impact on your productivity and long term health, or anything else related to travel, then book a private consultation and let's make sure those air miles don't steal your health hours. Instead, let's turn them into longevity miles for the long-haul!
Where you’ll find me… Last week: I was in Cambridge, talking to the Cambridge Vacuum Engineering Group about longevity. What struck me was their recognition that investing in employee health is investing in company performance. More and more organisations are realising that younger ageing, sharper thinking, and stronger energy aren’t just personal goals—they’re business assets. If your company hasn’t yet started this conversation, it might be time to invite me in—I love bringing these insights to leadership teams.
This week: I’m looking forward to my live call in The Million Hour Club. I go live every 2 weeks for 30 minutes. This week I'm revealing members biological ages (we test four times a year in the club) and seeng who's changed their direction of travel... for the younger!
Next week: Podcast recordings... and a first of it's kind retreat for me and my daughter - will share more later!
A thought to pause on…
We spend hours booking flights, researching hotels, and packing chargers for every device—yet we forget the most important device of all: our body clock. Jet lag is the only time-travel we get: don't let miles in the sky steal health hours from your life.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! Dr Alka
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