Flight-day planning
Plan a simple sleep schedule around time-zone travel
Create a general sleep-timing worksheet for the three days before and after a flight using your flight dates, time zones and usual sleep window.
Build a simple sleep-timing worksheet around your flight dates and time zones. It applies the CDC Yellow Book's general example of shifting sleep by about one hour per day during the 2–3 days before travel. It does not personalize light, medication, caffeine, or medical advice.
Use the airport's local date and time for each flight event. Enter IANA location names, not short abbreviations. If a clock-change makes a local time skipped or repeated, choose a different time or confirm the instant with your airline.
Enter both flight times, time zones, and your usual sleep window.
How to use this worksheet
Before travel, the example shifts the entered bedtime and wake time earlier or later by up to one hour per day for three days, following the shortest clock difference across midnight. This handles date-line trips without treating a 17-hour clock difference as a 17-hour body-clock shift. It is a simple illustration based on the CDC's general pre-travel sleep-shifting example, not an individualized circadian plan.
After arrival, the table shows your entered sleep window as a destination-local planning anchor for the next three nights. CDC guidance also discusses timing activities to destination time during the flight and staying awake during the local day after arrival, but individual needs vary.
Source and limits
The CDC Yellow Book is written for travel-health professionals. Its jet-lag section describes shifting sleep about one hour later for westward travel or earlier for eastward travel per day during the 2–3 days before a trip as an example strategy. This worksheet turns that general example into a basic clock-time schedule. It compares the time-zone offsets at your entered flight events and uses the shortest signed clock difference across midnight; route, individual response and daylight-saving changes can make a personalized plan different.
- CDC Yellow Book: Jet Lag Disorder (published 23 Apr 2025; checked 3 Nov 2026)
- IANA: Time Zone Database and update notes (checked 3 Nov 2026)
Time-zone offsets can change with daylight-saving rules and government decisions; this page relies on the time-zone data available in your browser. The worksheet is not medical advice or a guarantee of symptom prevention. Ask a qualified clinician about personal health questions, especially if you have a sleep or medical condition, use medication, or need an individualized plan.
For date and clock conversions, use the travel time-zone converter. For the meaning of times printed on an itinerary, see how to read flight ticket times. For onward costs, continue to the trip budget planner.
How it works
Enter the home and destination IANA time zones, local departure and arrival times, and your usual bedtime and wake time. Review the generated dates and sleep windows as a general planning illustration.
Good to know
Does this predict or prevent jet lag?
No. It lays out a simple clock-time worksheet from your own flight and sleep inputs. Jet lag and adjustment vary by person and itinerary; this is not a medical recommendation or guarantee.
How is the pre-trip schedule calculated?
The worksheet compares the entered home and destination UTC offsets at the flight events, uses the shortest signed clock difference across midnight, then shifts your entered sleep window earlier or later by one hour per day for up to three pre-trip days. It is a simplified example based on the CDC Yellow Book's general pre-travel sleep-shifting guidance, not an individualized circadian calculation.
Does this tell me when to use light or medication?
No. It does not calculate light exposure, medication, caffeine, naps, or treatment. Ask a qualified clinician about personal health questions or an individualized plan.
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