What jet lag does to your body - and how to cope
A safer approach, which can be used in combination with other strategies or alone, is to control your exposure to light once you arrive at your destination to delay or advance your body clock. But beware the simple advice to spend time outside. Again, you need to seek light at the right time, so at some specific times you may need to wear sunglasses in order to keep light out.
Your main aim is to get your body clock in sync with your new destination as soon as possible
As an example, if you are travelling west, departing in the morning and crossing five time zones, you need to spend time outside on arrival. The light will tell your brain that it's still daytime, suppressing the release of melatonin and other signals for sleep. You need to stay awake until bedtime at your destination, however tempting it is to lie down on the bed.
Another option is to combine your light seeking with some exercise, which small studies have found can help shift the body clock. The advice to professional athletes trying to deal with jet lag is to continue training while jet lagged, but at low to moderate intensity.
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