Timeshifter 2.1 review: If you cooperate, helps with jet lag

Timeshifter can help you combat jet lag

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Depending on your destination and activities, excursions and hotel stays can add up to thousands of dollars. So that you can get the most out of your vacation and travel expenses, you can change your circadian rhythm in advance. Instead of being tired, grumpy, and not having fun, you can be alert and well-adjusted when your plane lands.

Timeshifter is an app that acts as a friendly coach to help you change your time zone before you leave so you can be bright-eyed and ready to explore. However, you might be tempted to think that you can set timers to change your time zone without an app.

Of course, you can take the time and effort to keep track of time zones in different cities, but it can be difficult and add to the stress of travel. When you do it yourself, you need to calculate when you go to sleep or wake up and how many hours to shift each day. Adding to the equation, you should know when to start changing your sleeping and waking times for your destination.

Adding timers to yourself to combat jet lag can be a hassle

However, these are not all because you need to keep your sleep schedule in your travel history, which may include layovers in cities scattered around the world. If that sounds like a lot to keep track of, it is.

However, this is not what Timeshifter actively does for you but how it helps you do things yourself. As might be expected, changing your bedtime and staying up late is very intrusive into your normal routine.

This app is not intended for those with strict schedules that make it impractical or impossible to follow their prompts to change bedtimes.

The time shifter is only as effective as it does. The more closely you follow its guidelines, the less jet lag you may encounter on your trip.

This application has a clean and simple user interface. There are a few buttons to play with, as you only see three navigation buttons at the bottom of the app.

The left navigation button allows you to set customizations for your personal needs, and you can choose to use or not use caffeine or melatonin to help you change your circadian rhythm. Each option includes detailed information such as potential side effects to help you decide which is best.

The left, center, and right buttons allow you to set up a profile, see your jet lag plan, and review upcoming flights

The middle navigation button is where you see a detailed daily schedule of when to get some sun and drink coffee if that’s part of your plan. The schedule also shows you when to take a nap or sleep and when to use melatonin if you want to do so.

Click an icon in the table for detailed instructions if you need more information regarding any part of your jet lag plan. For example, if you want to learn more about exposure, click the sun icon for details on why you need to do this and how it affects your jet lag.

To see your upcoming trips, press the right navigation button. You can add new flights by selecting the second or third navigation button and pressing the airplane icon in the lower right corner.

To add a flight, you must enter the dates and flight numbers. It might seem strange that Timeshifter would ask for your flight number instead of just dates and times.

When testing this app, we asked chat support why they needed this level of flight detail. They replied that they had the other way earlier, but people made a lot of mistakes, and it took a long time to add a flight.

Since they used your flight number to create your jet lag plan, there may be less room for errors when creating your schedule. After you enter flight information, Timeshifter will give you a program of sleeping and waking times based on your travels.

Timeshifter requires flight numbers to be entered in order to add a flight

If you run into issues adding a ride or have any questions, there’s a chat icon in the top right corner of every screen. The chat window is very convenient as you can send your questions directly to support, also known as Jacob in the app.

Chat support isn’t open 24/7, but you can tell when to expect a response by looking at the status in the chat window. Additionally, you can email Timeshifter for help if you don’t want to use the app.

When testing this feature, it took about an hour for Timeshifter support to respond during business hours. We submitted another question via in-app chat support during non-business hours and received a helpful response early the next morning.

It is unlikely that urgent questions will arise when using this application. However, having the option to ask questions easily can make you feel more supported when preparing for a different time zone.

Taking the time and effort to track down time zones in diverse cities may not seem like a big deal, but it can still add to the stress of travel. You probably already know the challenges of changing time zones if you have family and friends who are far away.

With these factors in mind, not to mention the other preparations needed before you go abroad, it’s easy to see why an app like Timeshifter can be a traveler’s best friend.

The time changer is easy to use and takes the guesswork out of adjusting to new time zones. It can help to systematically shift your bedtime before your departure time so you can dive right into vacation mode as soon as you get off the plane.

You can try the first plan for free on Timeshifter by downloading it from the App Store. After that, pricing starts at $9.99 for each jet lag plan or $24.99 per year for the unlimited jet lag plans. In a world of expensive tariffs and resort fees, avoiding jet lag at those prices may be worth it, especially if you travel a lot on long-haul trips.