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Jet lag by route

Quick answer

How much jet lag will I get on my route?

Pick your route below. Each page estimates how many days to expect, whether your direction is the harder one, and gives a light-and-sleep plan — with the one lever that matters most: a fixed wake-up time.

Routes from London

DestinationTime zonesEst. adjustment
New York City5 west~4 daysplan →
Los Angeles8 west~6 daysplan →
Chicago6 west~4 daysplan →
San Francisco8 west~6 daysplan →
Toronto5 west~4 daysplan →
Vancouver8 west~6 daysplan →
Montréal5 west~4 daysplan →
Mexico City7 west~5 daysplan →
São Paulo4 west~3 daysplan →
Rio de Janeiro4 west~3 daysplan →
Buenos Aires4 west~3 daysplan →
Lima6 west~4 daysplan →
Bogotá6 west~4 daysplan →
Santiago5 west~4 daysplan →
Paris1 east~1 dayplan →
Berlin1 east~1 dayplan →
Munich1 east~1 dayplan →
Frankfurt am Main1 east~1 dayplan →
Amsterdam1 east~1 dayplan →
Brussels1 east~1 dayplan →
Madrid1 east~1 dayplan →
Barcelona1 east~1 dayplan →
Lisbon—noneplan →
Rome1 east~1 dayplan →

Major destinations

Tap a city for the route from London; each route page links onward to any other pair.

United Kingdom

United States

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

Argentina

Peru

Colombia

Chile

France

Germany

The Netherlands

Belgium

Spain

Portugal

Italy

Switzerland

Austria

Czechia

Poland

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Finland

Ireland

Iceland

Greece

Hungary

Romania

Ukraine

Russia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Israel

Egypt

Kenya

Nigeria

South Africa

Morocco

Japan

South Korea

China

Hong Kong

Taiwan

Singapore

Thailand

Malaysia

Indonesia

Philippines

Vietnam

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Australia

New Zealand

Nepal

Iran

Iraq

Jordan

Lebanon

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ivory Coast

Time differences, the full jet-lag guide, light exposure & sleep, sleep calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How long does jet lag last?

A common rule of thumb is about one day of adjustment per time zone crossed, a little faster going west than east. Holding a fixed wake-up time and getting daylight at the right time of day speeds it up.

Why is flying east worse than west?

Going east you have to fall asleep and wake up earlier than your body wants, which is hard. Going west you stay up later, which is much easier — so westward jet lag usually clears faster.

What is the single most effective fix?

A fixed, unmissable wake-up time at your destination, combined with bright light at the correct end of the day. The wake-up time anchors the clock; light shifts it.

Why people use Captain Wake to wake up on time

Not because it rings louder. Because it removes every way your half-asleep brain talks you back into bed.

There is no button to tap

Swiping an alarm away is a reflex you can perform while still asleep. A mission needs your thinking brain switched on — and once it is on, sinking back under is much harder.

It survives every trick

Force-quit the app, restart the phone, flip it to silent, turn the volume down. The alarm re-arms and keeps going until the mission is actually done.

It gets you physically upright

Photo and barcode missions are anchored to a spot in another room, so the only way to stop the noise is to stand up and walk there. You cannot pre-stage it from bed.

It fixes the night, not just the morning

A sleep forecast before bed, bedtime reminders and wake-up streaks — because the 6 AM problem usually starts at 1 AM.

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