Three apps to help you tackle jet lag – or even avoid it completely
- Telling you to wear sunglasses to avoid light or to turn up your phone’s brightness, the Timeshifter and Entrain apps help get your body in sync
- Another app provides customised acupressure instructional videos to help relieve headache symptoms caused by jet lag
Jet lag is the bane of many a trip: even a difference of just a few hours can make you feel out of sync. Luckily, there are apps to help travellers manage the condition.
The roots of jet lag lie in our biology, which is what makes it so hard to shift. “Our brains and bodies work on a 24-hour cycle called our circadian rhythm, which is controlled by light and darkness,” says Dr Kasey Nichols, a doctor based in the US state of Arizona who focuses on sleep disorders.
“Jet lag occurs when people travel across timelines, causing it to be light when your body is used to it being dark outside and vice versa.
“Apps may help more quickly shift the circadian clock by indicating to you when you should be getting bright light, and when you should be shutting it out.”
According to Dr Chris Alford, associate professor in applied psychology at the University of the West of England in the UK, an app should only be one item in your jet-lag management toolkit.
