The common myth about jet lag that refuses to die

You land after an overnight flight, your eyes gritty, your stomach asking what time it is, and your phone full of messages that read like automated cheerleading: of course! please provide the text you would like me to translate. The same tone pops up in travel advice too - of course! please provide the text you wish to have translated. - as if jet lag is just a minor misunderstanding you can clear up with one clever trick. It matters because the most common “fix” people swear by is also the one that keeps them tired for longer.

The myth is tidy and reassuring: stay awake until a “normal” bedtime at your destination and you’ll reset faster. So you push through the afternoon like a zombie, refuse the nap you’re desperate for, and collapse at 8pm… only to wake at 2am wide awake, hungry, and furious at the ceiling. We’ve all done it. We’ve all blamed ourselves.

The myth: “Just power through and you’ll beat jet lag”

The appeal is obvious. It feels disciplined, almost heroic - like you’re forcing your body to accept the new time zone through sheer willpower. It also fits the way we talk about travel: conquer it, hack it, optimise it.

But jet lag isn’t a moral test. It’s biology. Your body clock (circadian rhythm) doesn’t reset because you refuse a nap; it resets because it gets the right timing of light, darkness, food, movement and sleep pressure. “Powering through” can help in some cases, but as a blanket rule it often backfires - especially after overnight flights, long eastbound trips, or when you arrive early morning with a full day ahead.

What actually happens when you “stay awake” too hard

Your body runs on two overlapping systems: a circadian clock that sets your alertness window, and a sleep-pressure system that builds the longer you’re awake. After a long haul, both are scrambled.

When you force yourself to stay awake all day, you do build sleep pressure. The problem is you also tend to:

• Fall asleep too early (late afternoon or early evening), which can lock in a middle-of-the-night wake-up.
• Miss the best light window for shifting your clock, because you spend it indoors, half-conscious, “just resting your eyes”.
• Accidentally train your body that 3am is a reasonable time to be alert, by lying there scrolling, snacking, and turning the bed into a second lounge.

That classic pattern - early crash, 2–4am wakefulness, then a wrecked next day - isn’t a failure of grit. It’s the predictable result of mis-timed sleep and light.

The more accurate rule: anchor your day, not your heroics

A better approach is less dramatic and more effective: anchor a short sleep and protect your light exposure. You’re not trying to win a fight against tiredness; you’re trying to steer your internal clock with gentle, repeated cues.

Here’s the practical version many frequent travellers end up using:

• Take a controlled nap if you need it: 20–30 minutes, ideally before mid‑afternoon local time. Set an alarm and get up. Think “top up”, not “catch up”.
• Choose one “anchor sleep” window: aim for a reasonable local bedtime, but don’t insist it must be perfect on day one. If you’re nodding off at 6pm, a short nap then a later bedtime can work better than an 11-hour coma.
• Get outside in daylight: even 20–40 minutes helps. Light is the strongest cue for shifting your body clock, far more powerful than a stubborn refusal to rest.
• Eat roughly on local time: not huge meals at midnight “body time”, but light, simple food that won’t turn your stomach into the loudest jet-lag symptom.

If that sounds unglamorous, it is. It’s also what tends to work.

Eastbound vs westbound: why the “power through” advice fails so often

The myth refuses to die partly because it sometimes works - but only in the right direction.

Westbound (e.g., London to New York), your day gets “longer”. Many people can stay up later and adapt faster. Eastbound (e.g., New York to London), your day gets “shorter”, and your body has to fall asleep earlier than it wants to. That’s harder for most of us.

A rough guide that keeps you sane:

Direction	What your body clock needs	The common trap
Westbound	Later sleep/wake	Napping too long, then bedtime slides to 3am
Eastbound	Earlier sleep/wake	Crashing too early, then waking at 2–4am

So when someone tells you to “just stay awake until bedtime”, they’re offering one tool and pretending it’s a universal law. It isn’t.

A simple day-one plan that doesn’t require suffering

If you arrive in the morning or early afternoon:

1. Get daylight early (a walk, even if you feel hideous).
2. If you’re struggling, nap briefly (20–30 mins) before mid‑afternoon.
3. Keep the evening boring: a meal, a shower, low light, no “let’s just lie down for a minute”.
4. If you wake in the night, treat it as a pit stop: low light, no heavy food, no bright screens, and don’t panic. You’re not broken; you’re transitioning.

If you arrive late afternoon or evening, the “no nap” advice is more likely to help - not because naps are evil, but because there’s not enough day left to use them safely.

The myth’s real problem: it turns jet lag into a character flaw

The most damaging part of “power through” culture is the quiet shame it creates. You feel weak for needing sleep. You feel like you’ve ruined the trip before it starts. Then you overcorrect with caffeine, alcohol, or a “quick nap” that becomes two hours, and the whole thing spirals.

Jet lag is normal. The goal isn’t to prove anything. The goal is to land, give your body the right cues, and move forward in small steps. The win is waking up on day three and realising you’re hungry at the right time again.

FAQ:

• Is it ever a good idea to stay awake until local bedtime? Yes - especially if you arrive late in the day, or if a nap will push you into an early-evening crash and a 3am wake-up.
• What’s the best nap for jet lag? A short one: 20–30 minutes, before mid‑afternoon local time. Long naps tend to steal sleep from the night you’re trying to build.
• Does melatonin “fix” jet lag? It can help with sleep timing for some people, but it’s not a universal reset button. Light exposure and consistent sleep timing usually matter more.
• Why do I wake at 2–4am after travelling? You’ve likely fallen asleep too early relative to your body clock, so your brain treats the middle of the night like morning. It’s common, especially after eastbound flights.
• What’s the single most important cue to adjust faster? Daylight at the right time. Getting outside soon after waking (on local time) is often more effective than trying to brute-force sleep.