What Causes ‘Jet Lag’ When Traveling Across Time Zones?

Your body has a clock, and when you travel really fast, it gets confused. Imagine your brain is like a train that runs on a schedule, if the train suddenly jumps to another track, it might be late or early for its next stop. That’s jet lag! Your body feels sleepy at odd times because it's still thinking it’s morning or evening back home.

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Examples

  1. You fly from New York to London at night, but it's morning there, your body thinks it’s still night.
  2. Your parents go on vacation and come back with puffy eyes and tired smiles.
  3. After a long flight, you're wide awake when it's bedtime in the new place.

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