Are the astronauts on your website real?

Yes! The astronauts are real and are investors in Timeshifter. Former NASA Astronaut and Chief Astronaut at Axiom Space, Commander Michael López-Alegría, has completed five space missions on Space X, Space Shuttle, and Soyuz. He holds NASA records for most extravehicular activities (EVAs) or 'spacewalks' (10), cumulative EVA time (67 hours, 40 minutes), and for the 3rd longest spaceflight at 215 days! Another legendary astronaut you might have seen on our site is Professor Mike Massimino. Mike has successfully completed two of the hardest space missions – both to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He also was the first person to tweet from space! Today, Mike is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. Another one of our investors, Dr. Smith Johnston, is a former NASA flight surgeon and Chief Medical Officer at Axiom Space. He was the head of the Fatigue and Longevity Programs at NASA for many years and developed the first circadian desynchrony program to help NASA astronauts and mission controllers manage jet lag, shift work disorder and circadian challenges during space light. Our Chief Scientist, Dr. Steven W. Lockley, continues to assist NASA today. Timeshifter is tightly connected with astronauts because circadian science has been a critical part of enhancing the safety and performance of astronauts on space missions for many decades, as NASA understand the critical importance of circadian rhythm management to reduce the safety and health risks of clock disruption. Circadian plans are carefully crafted to help astronauts reduce jet lag when traveling for training visits, align with rocket launch and spacewalk timing, and control their day-night cycle when living aboard the International Space Station, including shifting their schedules for space walks, docking and undocking. Mission controllers are provided with circadian plans to support these missions 24/7, without compromising anyone's safety.

Can't I simply move my sleep to adjust quickly?

Jet lag is more than just a sleep disorder – it affects all the biological systems that the circadian clock controls. Focusing on sleep alone will not be effective and, given that sleep blocks light to the circadian clock when you close your eyes, means that sleep at the wrong time will send the wrong light signal to the brain, making jet lag worse. If you shifted sleep for many days leading up the trip it might help, but in the real world, this approach is not practical. For example, a 6-hour time change from New York to Paris would need you to sleep from 5pm to 1am leading up the trip and staying awake all night. When coming back, you would need to sleep in Paris from 5am to 1pm to adapt back to New York time, again an impractical solution. Our Practicality Filter ensures that sleep is scheduled at a time when it will help with your circadian adaptation AND is practical to stick to.

Is it always a good idea to see sunlight at the destination?

The light-dark cycle is the strongest time cue for resetting the circadian clock. Depending on when you see light, it can shift your circadian clock either earlier or later. For many trips, seeing light when you land can shift the clock in the wrong direction, making jet lag worse and prolonging the number of days it will take you to adapt. You might even get 'stuck' at the wrong time, ruining your vacation or business trip. The timing of light exposure is therefore not intuitive and generic advice does not work – proper advice requires estimation of your internal body clock time in order to schedule sunlight (or any light) exposure properly.

Will a jog in the morning help me adjust faster?

Like food, exercise is also a very weak circadian synchronizer, so it doesn't help reset your circadian clock. The time at which you exercise may also lead you to see light at the wrong time and shift your clock in the wrong direction, making your jet lag worse. Exercise has to be timed as part of the overall light-dark exposure plan.

Isn't fasting effective against jet lag?

Many claims have been made about diets or fasting being able to reset the clock. These claims are based on studies of nocturnal (night-active) rodents which cannot easily be translated to (day-active) humans. Food does not reset the circadian clock in the brain and there is currently no accepted method for using food — or fasting — for resetting circadian rhythms. The evidence for this is found in studies of totally blind people, who Dr. Lockley has studied extensively. Totally blind people have no light information reaching the brain and therefore cannot synchronize the circadian rhythms to the 24-hour day. This results in a clinical disorder called non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder. They still get this disorder even though they eat their meals on a regular 24-hour pattern; if food could reset their circadian clock, they would not develop non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, yet they do, showing that food is not an effective method to reset the clock. While advice on what and when to eat may be helpful in reducing the metabolic consequences of jet lag, caused by eating at the wrong biological time, it will not alleviate the underlying cause.

Is it a good idea to sleep as much as possible on the plane?

Sleep equals dark as far as the circadian clock is concerned – when you close your eyes to sleep, you block light information going from the eyes to the brain - so if you sleep at a time when you should be seeing light, you will shift your circadian clock in the wrong direction and make jet lag worse. Advice focused only on sleep, without resetting the circadian clock, assumes that insomnia and sleepiness are the only symptoms of jet lag, which is not the case. Sleep (and therefore dark) timing should be scheduled as part of the overall light-dark exposure plan designed to reset the circadian clock, and end jet lag, as quickly as possible.

Is jet lag more than feeling 'off' for a couple of days?

Jet lag is a disruption of our internal 24-hour circadian clock, which regulates almost every biological system in our bodies. As a consequence, jet lag is disrupting our entire biology — from our sleep-wake cycle, mood and performance patterns to our metabolic, immune, and reproductive systems. Jet lag causes a wide range of symptoms and significant financial costs: Insomnia, Poor concentration, Reduced performance, Compromised safety, Less enjoyment, Needing to leave earlier than wanted to gradually acclimatize to the new time zone, Long recovery time when back home, Weakened immune system, Long-term health implications.

I have my own routine - why should I start using Timeshifter?

Given that appropriately timed light exposure and light avoidance are the only proven way to alleviate jet lag, many of the common 'tips' are either ineffective or may even make your jet lag worse. For example, knocking yourself out with sleeping pills, or getting on the new time zone as quickly as possible, or following the light-dark pattern on the plane, do not work.

What scientific proof is behind Timeshifter?

Timeshifter uniquely combines the only elements shown to reset the circadian clock (light-dark exposure and melatonin supplements), and alleviate the symptoms (light, melatonin, caffeine, naps), and not surprisingly, the sum of their effects is greater than the individual parts. There are many scientific studies attesting to the benefits of our approach, and our algorithm has been used for many years by NASA, F1 drivers and elite athletes, and more recently by astronauts and mission controllers at Axiom Space. Our Chief Scientist is Steven W. Lockley, Ph.D. Dr. Lockley is a Neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. With almost 30 years of research experience, he is considered an international authority on how to reset the circadian clock.

Can I print the jet lag plan?

We currently don't offer an option to print or export the plan. We recommend using the Timeshifter app, as it sends you timely reminders for each upcoming activity to help you stay on track.

How do I change my advice settings?

Go to your profile settings by tapping the small profile icon in the bottom left corner of your screen. Here, you will find your advice settings. Some advice settings can only be changed when you don't have an active jet lag plan. If you have not yet departed and want to force a change in the settings, delete your flights, update the settings, and add your flights back to generate a new jet lag plan.

Why isn't the password reset working?

When you request a password reset, we send you an email with a link to a password reset page. If you're using an iPhone, tapping the link might sometimes open the app instead of the password reset web page. To resolve this, open the link on your computer, or copy and paste the URL into your mobile browser.

Can I start my plan earlier than recommended?

No, the plan you receive is the optimal plan for your trip. While it's technically possible to start a plan earlier, it would require that you take actions that are often impractical and unlikely to fit into your normal schedule. Very few people - apart from elite athletes and astronauts - have a schedule flexible enough to accommodate such adjustments, and the risk of noncompliance would be too high. Therefore, we recommend following the plan as provided to ensure the best results.

I can't input flights in the past?

To effectively tackle jet lag, it is crucial to begin timeshifting before your departure. If you start timeshifting after your departure, we lack information about your light exposure and sleep patterns since you left. These factors significantly influence your circadian clock, potentially shifting it towards or away from your destination time zone. Starting your jet lag plan before your departure ensures that we have the correct information to help you adjust effectively to your new time zone.

Where is my jet lag plan?

Once you have added your flights in the app, your jet lag plans will be listed on the advice page as circles with a destination and a date. If you do not see your jet lag plans, tap the middle icon with three stripes to view them. Please note that we group your flights based on the optimal way to handle your jet lag. Typically, your flights will be separated into an outbound jet lag plan and a homebound jet lag plan. If you have a multi-city trip, your flights may be grouped differently than you expect.

What should I do if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

Was your flight delayed? Or did you change your travel plans? Learn how to edit flight times, delete, and replace flights with ease. When that happens, be sure to edit your flights as soon as you have the new information. This will update your advice and ensure your jet lag plan still aligns with your new schedule. If you did not edit your flight in time and it is greyed out, please contact customer support.

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Replace jet lag myths
with real science

Our 1-minute video
explains the science

Former NASA Astronaut talks
about timeshifting

Advanced science.
Easy to use.

It’s as simple as taking small
actions at specific times.

Practicality Filter™ adjusts
advice to the “real world”.

It takes less than a minute
to create a jet lag plan.

It works!

Based on 129,852 surveys, travelers who followed the advice were 14.1 times less likely to report very severe jet lag compared to travelers who didn’t follow the advice.

Traveler using Timeshifter to eliminate jet lag

96.4%

of our users cross time zones
without feeling jet lagged

Traveler not using Timeshifter to eliminate jet lag

14.1x

increase in very severe jet lag
when not following our advice

Trusted by elite athletes

Excited Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 driver celebrating with team members on the race track at night.

"I just had that little bit of extra capacity, brain power, and energy left for the crucial moments. Anything extra you can bring to the table is going to help you in that moment – and I’m sure that’s part of why I won the world championship.”

Nico Rosberg

VC Entrepreneur & 2016 Formula 1 World Champion

Key features

Circadian Time™

Advice is adjusted according
to your biological time

Practicality Filter™

Makes advice easy to follow
in the “real world”

Advice notifications

Push notifications show you advice
– even without opening the app

Timeshifter pre-travel jet lag adjustment

Pre-travel adjustment

Start adjusting before
your departure

Quick Turnaround®

For business travelers who want to
be at their best during short trips

Intuitive 3-hour view

See a quick 3-hour view, or view
full plan for planning purposes

Complex itinerary support

One-way, round-trips, and even
complex multi-city trips

Reduce jet lag when you have many stopovers

Unlimited stopovers

The advice takes all of your
stopovers into account

Jet lag and flight delays and cancellations

Flight editing

Simply edit your itinerary when a
flight is delayed or cancelled

Why travelers love Timeshifter

No more grogginess, confusion, extreme tiredness, and cheeseburger cravings at 2am.

★★★★★

4.7 / 5

(4,972 ratings)

Timeshifter jet lag app fan: Sara Quiriconi

"Timeshifter saved my work day after flying a red eye from LAX to MIA. Meanwhile my co-worker (who didn't use Timeshifter) dozed off for half the day at his desk. Business and well-being focused travelers all need to be using Timeshifter!”

Sara Quiriconi, Travel Wellness Expert

Timeshifter jet lag app fan: Sandy Anuras from Expedia

"I recently started using Timeshifter, an app that helps you tackle jet lag. I travel internationally a lot, both for business and for leisure (my parents live in Bangkok), and it can be hard to get in quality time for a seven-day trip. I found that using Timeshifter reduced my jetlag “hangover” by days! It helped me really enjoy my time with my mom and dad in November.”

Sandy Anuras, Senior Vice President, Global Applied AI at Panasonic

Timeshifter jet lag app fan: Former NASA Astronaut Mike Foreman

“Avoid jet lag the way astronauts do. As an astronaut I did a great deal of traveling internationally for speaking, training, etc. NASA had access to doctors and scientists who developed algorithms that gave us written schedules to follow before, during and after our trips to help us avoid jet lag. These are the same algorithms used by Timeshifter. As a retired astronaut I use this app religiously when I travel. It works!”

Mike Foreman, Former NASA Astronaut

The science of jet lag

The key to reducing jet lag
is individually-timed light

Light is the most important time cue for resetting your circadian clock. Correctly timed light exposure and light avoidance will accelerate your adaptation. Seeing light at the wrong time will make your jet lag worse.

Circadian rhythms regulate
your biological systems

Circadian rhythms regulate nearly all biological systems

Crossing time zones disrupts
your circadian rhythms

Our circadian rhythms are disrupted when crossing time zones

Fast Company endorsement of the Timeshifter jet lag app

Join 1.7 million
timeshifters

Whether you’re traveling for business, going on vacation, or competing in a sports event abroad, the Timeshifter jet lag app can help optimize your performance, enjoyment, and health.