A new study published in the journal Chaos found that it’s harder to recover from jet lag when you travel eastward rather than west. Turns out your biological clock doesn’t operate on a perfectly synchronized 24-hour schedule, following instead a cycle that lasts a little longer—about 24.5 hours. That means it’s easier on you to extend the day by flying west across time zones, instead of shortening the day by flying east.
The researchers say they hope their discoveries can be used to find better ways of fighting jet lag than what we’ve currently got—a combination of powering through, light exposure, and internet quackery.
