Natural Jet Lag Remedies: What Works and What Does Not

Timed light, timed sleep, timed meals, hydration, and a short well-placed nap do roughly 80 percent of the work — none cost anything.

Melatonin

Genuinely useful at 0.3–1 mg timed to destination bedtime. Higher doses or late-night doses mostly produce grogginess.

Caffeine

Papers over symptoms during the day. Morning only. Stopped 8 hours before bed. Late-day coffee on day two means the plan needs more sleep, not more coffee.

Things that are usually a waste

Branded jet-lag multivitamins. Adaptogen powders. Most herbal sleep teas at therapeutic dose. Anti-jet-lag essential oils. None dangerous; none move recovery.

Exercise

Light movement on arrival day stacks light and exercise cues. Hard training on day one adds fatigue without speeding adjustment.