What Causes ‘Jet Lag’ and How Can We Fix It?

Jet lag happens when your body’s clock gets confused because you travel across time zones quickly.

Imagine your body is like a robot that follows a daily schedule: it knows when to be awake and when to sleep, just like how you know it's bedtime after a long day at school. But if you suddenly go from morning in one city to night in another, poof! Your robot gets mixed up.

When you travel fast, your body’s clock doesn’t get a chance to catch up. For example, if you're used to going to bed at 8 p. m., but now it's already 10 p. m. in the new place, your body says, “Wait, I’m not ready to sleep yet!”

You can help your robot reset by doing things that tell it what time it is:

• If you're going east, try going to bed earlier.
• If you're going west, stay up later.

Also, when you get to the new place, try to eat meals and go to sleep at the same time as people there. It's like helping your robot learn a new schedule, it might take a few days, but soon it’ll be back in sync!