Dear Garmin Support,
I have been trialling the Jet Lag Advisor feature in my Garmin device while preparing for a long-haul trip (Melbourne → Paris, via a brief transfer in Dubai).
The tool has been advising me to delay morning light exposure and push my schedule later in the days leading up to travel. However, this is contrary to established circadian science for eastward travel.
- For an eastward trip crossing ~8–9 time zones (Melbourne → Paris), the evidence-based approach is to advance the body clock — that means encouraging earlier sleep, using evening melatonin at destination bedtime, and seeking morning light in the new time zone.
- Delaying light exposure (as advised by Jet Lag Advisor) would push my clock later, which is appropriate for westward travel (e.g. Paris → Melbourne) but actually worsens misalignment for eastward travel.
I believe the Jet Lag Advisor may be misapplying the “delay” strategy regardless of direction, or is presenting generic advice not tuned to the actual time-zone shift.
Could you clarify whether the algorithm distinguishes between eastward vs westward travel, and whether updates are planned to align the advice with sleep medicine best practice (e.g. guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine)?
I enjoy using Garmin products and appreciate the inclusion of circadian coaching, but at present the advice given appears to be misleading and potentially counterproductive for travellers going east.
Kind regards,
AR
