Jetlag Recovery Timeline Calculator

📖 Overview

Jet lag planning matters for performance meetings and competition days.

This calculator converts clock shift and adaptation capacity into recovery days and readiness risk.

Use it to choose arrival dates and pre trip sleep shifts more intelligently.

Use these default and higher-pressure example inputs to explore how sensitive this calculator is before using your real numbers.

Input	Base Case	Higher Pressure Case
Time Zone Shift (hours)	8	9.6
Sleep Shift Capacity (hours/day)	1.5	1.8
Days Until Critical Event	4	4.8

Estimates adaptation timeline for jet lag based on total clock shift and realistic daily sleep adjustment.

The Formula

Recovery Days = |Time Zone Shift| ÷ Sleep Shift Capacity Per Day

\|Shift\|	Absolute time-zone difference in hours
Shift Capacity/Day	How many hours your sleep timing can realistically move daily
Recovery Days	Estimated days to align body clock

💡Earlier arrival is usually needed when high-stakes performance is required soon after landing.

Time shift	1h/day	1.5h/day	2h/day
4 hours	4.0 d	2.7 d	2.0 d
6 hours	6.0 d	4.0 d	3.0 d
8 hours	8.0 d	5.3 d	4.0 d
10 hours	10.0 d	6.7 d	5.0 d

Use this tool when you need a fast decision during active planning or execution.
Use this before committing money, time, or tradeoffs that are hard to reverse.
Use this to compare options using the same assumptions across scenarios.

Results can be misleading if key inputs are missing, stale, or unrealistic.
Very small or very large values may amplify rounding effects and interpretation risk.
If assumptions change mid-decision, recalculate before acting.

💡 Use realistic shift capacity; aggressive schedules often fail in practice.

💡 Anchor by local morning light to speed adaptation.

💡 Reduce caffeine late in the new day to stabilize sleep timing faster.

❓ Why absolute shift hours?

Both eastbound and westbound shifts require adaptation effort.

❓ Can I be functional before full recovery?

Yes, but key-event performance may still be impaired.