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Lag Time

Beating Jet Lag with Your Phone

UD - JetLag Genie Let’s look back. All the way back to last summer.

It was your annual retreat to Lake Como. You were enjoying some gelato and whispering nothings to a comely young member of the prime minister’s entourage. And then, it happened...

You fell asleep.

Jet lag—it’s real, and it’s about time you get serious about it. And by get serious, we mean download an app...

Which brings us to JetLag Genie, an iPhone app devoted to conquering jet lag once and for all, available now.

Think of this as your own personal sleep coach, gently nudging (and/or angrily poking) you onto Milan time before you even start packing.

You’ll start by entering your flight info along with your usual sleep schedule (the Italians can accommodate your midnight grappa habit). Then, three days before your flight, your phone will wake you up a little earlier than usual, and that afternoon, you might get an ominous message instructing you to “seek dark.” (It’s probably not referring to ancient evil.)

By the time you get on the plane, your internal clock will already be halfway to Milan. And for the next five days, the app will guide you through late-afternoon naps, mysterious melatonin supplements and seemingly insurmountable wake-up calls. And if you find yourself shifting gears to a sudden, kitesurfing-related business trip to Fiji... you can begin the whole process again.

But bring coffee, just in case.

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