I’ve never traveled more than seven time zones at a time before. But I was surprised to hear, when friends recently returned from a scuba diving trip halfway around the world, that they were still feeling jet lag two weeks later. And more so, that that is expected.

I know we’ve written about jet lag before. And in reading through “Brainy Traveler” Nick’s post, one of his suggestions is the one that has worked the best for me: Stay up until your normal bedtime at your destination. But there’s a new piece on the Scientific American website that goes in-depth on beating, or at least lessening, the effects of crossing multiple time zones.

One of the factors that helps a person’s circadian rhythm (what helps keep humans on a roughly 24-hour cycle) is exercise, which Nick cited in our previous post. Melatonin level is another, and light, a third factor is what this piece, written by Jay Olson, focuses on.

And it’s not about having a flashlight behind your knee. It’s perhaps even less complicated than that – all about when you should seek out natural light, or a light box, and when you should avoid it.

For more, you can read the whole story.