What Is the Science Behind Jet Lag?

Your body has an internal clock, like a little timer that tells you when to sleep and when to wake up. When you fly across the world, your timer gets confused because it thinks it's still in your old time zone. This makes you feel tired or sleepy at the wrong times, that’s jet lag! It’s like your body is still on sleep mode from yesterday but you’re trying to be awake today.

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Examples

  1. Flying from New York to London feels like your body is still on Eastern Time, even though it's now noon in Europe.
  2. You fall asleep on the plane, but you wake up groggy because your brain didn’t get enough light to know it’s time to be awake yet.
  3. Your friend flew west and got more sleep, while you flew east and barely got any.

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