Wearable Re-Timer Light Fights Jet Lag

Most frequent fliers have a hard time getting their body clock back into rhythm or adjusting to a new time zone. The disruptions affect their normal sleep schedule and can sometimes lead to insomnia. But a new gadget invented by an Australian professor promises to solve the jet lag problem for good.

The Re-Timer light device looks like a dorky pair of glasses from a strange science fiction movie of the 1980s. But that doesn’t matter: the wearable device emits green light that mimics natural sunlight and actually succeeds in regulating your internal clock.

More specifically, the light it emits is detected by our eyes as sunlight and our brain is thus signaled to stay awake and set the internal clock accordingly. The inventor, Flinders University’s Professor Leon Lack, insists that the light device will allow users to adjust their body internal clock in small steps, thus reducing the strong impact that a long flight can have on people and reducing jet lag symptoms.

Recommended use

The device can be worn at different times throughout a day, based on users’ sleep requirements. For instance, if the user needs to fall asleep early, they have to wear the Re-Timer for 50 minutes soon after waking up in order to advance their body clock. If the users wants to fall asleep later, they need to delay their internal clock and will therefore have to wear the light device for 50 minutes before having to go to bed.  Flinders says the device should be used three times per week in order for the body to readjust.

Besides fighting jet lag, the Re-Timer can also be used to boost energy during a long winter, to overcome insomnia if your body clock has been derailed off its normal sleep schedule, and to manage fatigue in case you work in shifts.

The device can be easily worn over reading glasses. It is powered by a battery that can be recharged via USB. Re-Timer is currently available for purchase in the United States and Australia for about $275.

[Image via CPAP Australia]