diff --git a/cortex/config.py b/cortex/config.py
index ecab22d..7798dc5 100644
--- a/cortex/config.py
+++ b/cortex/config.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
 
     # Auto-distillation schedule — override in .env
     # AUTO_DISTILL=false disables entirely
-    scheduler_timezone: str = "America/Chicago"  # IANA tz — set in .env if different
+    scheduler_timezone: str = "America/New_York"  # IANA tz — override in .env if needed
     auto_distill: bool = True
     auto_distill_short: bool = True   # daily at 03:00 — rolls session logs → MEMORY_SHORT
     auto_distill_mid: bool = True     # weekly Sunday at 03:30 — LLM summarizes short → mid