Jet lag plan
New York is 5 hours behind London. You're traveling west — the easier direction. Your body delays its clock.
About 5,570 km due west · approximately 7.4-hour non-stop flight · an ultra-long-haul flight.
The route from London, United Kingdom to New York, United States covers roughly 5,570 kilometres in a due west direction. At standard jet cruise speed plus a one-hour allowance for taxi, climb, and descent, a non-stop flight takes about 7.4 hours. Both cities sit in the northern hemisphere, so the seasonal direction of daylight (longer days in June, shorter in December) matches between origin and destination.
London is in the temperate zone. Day length varies by four to six hours between summer and winter, so the season of your trip materially affects available morning and evening light. New York is in the temperate zone. Day length varies by four to six hours between summer and winter, so the season of your trip materially affects available morning and evening light.
Standard 09:00–18:00 working hours at both ends of this route overlap by approximately 4 hours. In London that window runs 14:00 to 18:00; in New York it is 09:00 to 13:00. This is the realistic window for live meetings, customer calls, or pair work without forcing either end out of normal hours.
Both cities observe daylight saving time. The hour offset on this route can shift by one hour twice a year (typically March and October/November), and the two clocks rarely change on the exact same date — expect a transient 1-hour mismatch for two to three weeks per transition.
If you are a lark (morning type): Westward travel is the easier direction and larks usually feel close to baseline within 3 days. The risk for larks is overshooting: stay up later than you feel like at the destination for the first two nights to avoid waking before local sunrise.
If you are a night owl (evening type): Westward travel suits owls because the body prefers delaying over advancing. A 5-hour westward shift typically clears in 3 days. Stay outside in the evening light at the destination and avoid early-morning bright light for the first three days.
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The great-circle distance from London to New York is about 5,570 kilometres. A typical non-stop flight takes around 7.4 hours at standard cruise speed; routes with connections add two to four hours.
New York is currently 5 hours behind London. Both cities observe daylight saving time. The hour offset on this route can shift by one hour twice a year (typically March and October/November), and the two clocks rarely change on the exact same date — expect a transient 1-hour mismatch for two to three weeks per transition.
Westward travel — which this route is — is the easier direction. Your body delays its clock, which is closer to its natural tendency. Most travellers clear a 5-hour westward shift in 4 days.
For a 5-hour shift, 0.3 to 0.5 mg of melatonin taken three to five hours before target bedtime at the destination is the dose supported by the Cochrane review. Higher doses (3–5 mg) do not advance phase better and increase morning grogginess. Start one day before departure.
Yes — for shifts of four hours or more, shifting bedtime and wake time by one hour per day, starting three days before departure, materially reduces post-arrival jet lag.
Owls (evening types) recover faster on westward routes because the body prefers delaying over advancing. Larks may overshoot — they should stay up later than they feel like at the destination for the first two nights.