One of the most popular questions I get about my book Travel Balance is around how to handle jet lag.
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 on Adventures in Time Zones…enjoy!
While it can be very exciting to travel to destinations half way around the world, the impact of changes in time zones can be quite challenging for the body. For some people, just a one-hour shift in time (e.g. daylight savings time changes twice a year in the U.S.) can throw the body’s clock off for a week. So, this chapter is not only for the twelve-hour time zone change, but also for those traveling to cities where there is only a few hours difference.
The effects of jet lag can really alter your plans to conquer the city upon arrival. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you have probably not experienced serious jet lag. The most common symptoms include fatigue, confusion, and lack of awareness . . . not to mention drowsiness. For some people, these symptoms can last for several days or longer, so anything you do to lessen these effects is going to be a good thing for you. There have been recent studies that show that jet lag has also been shown to impact other areas of health, like decreasing memory capacity and the immune system, altering genes, inducing stress, and disturbing other brain functions.
Our bodies function best when we are in rhythm with the cycles of the planet. It is best if we can go to sleep when the sun goes down and wake up in the morning for the sunrise. The invention and subsequent pervasiveness of electric lights (and other electronic entertainment) has given us the freedom to alter these cycles dramatically. We can now stay up until after midnight with all of the lights on in the house and sleep later in the morning, but this is not ideal for our body. Sleep issues are prevalent in our society, and I believe that this is one of the main causes (among other things – stress being at the top). If we can live in harmony with the planet, as the human body has been accustomed to for many generations, then we are much more likely to live in a healthy state. Working nightshifts and sleeping during the day might be good for vampires, but not so much for you and me. All this to say, if you can remain in sync with the time zone that you are in, you will be less stressed, more productive, and much happier. Our mission, then, is to figure out how to get in sync with our destination time zone as quickly and comfortably as we possibly can.
If you are not traveling through more than three time zones, stay on your home time zone during your trip. For example, if you are flying from Texas to California (two-hour time difference), just keep your watch, body clock, and routine set to Texas time, if you can. This will obviously depend on the schedule at your destination and the length of time that you’ll be there.
Adjusting Your Body Clock
Most people have a much more difficult time traveling from west to east. For me, flying from Texas to Europe is quite a challenge, as the flights typically leave late in the afternoon and arrive early the next morning. For those who sleep relatively easily on the plane, this may not be an issue. However, for those of us who are merely resting, it’s a bit more challenging. Some people have reported success with changing their body clock gradually before leaving for their trip, starting a few days prior to departure. I have not personally tried this but wanted to mention it as an option if you’d like to give it a try. You would basically go to bed earlier or later, depending on your direction of travel, and adjust a few hours per day, starting a week or so before your trip.
Flying East
I use several natural health strategies to help me adjust, once I get on the airplane. Let’s say for example that I am traveling from Chicago to London (one of the more difficult directions and time zone changes) and that my flight departs around 6:00 PM (18:00 for my non-U.S. friends) and arrives in London around 8:00 AM the next morning. During half of the year, it is a six-hour time zone difference. The first thing I do when I get on the plane (literally when I step on it) is tell my mind that it is now six hours later. So, if we board at 5:30 PM, I will completely change my mindset to believing that it’s 11:30 PM. Part of the challenge with this is that most international flights like to show the time of your departure and arrival city on the airplane monitors. I do not look at those and just completely imagine that I am in the destination city’s time zone. I don’t wear a watch, so I set my cell phone to London time and use that to keep track of my journey while I’m in the air. Another challenge is that when they serve dinner, you’re really eating around 1:30 AM, but stay with me here.
As soon as I get to my seat and get everything settled, I put the packet of No Jet Lag (homeopathic remedy) in my pocket or the seat back pocket so that it’s handy. Per the directions, you’ll want to chew one of the tablets at take-off. Remember, as with all homeopathics, you will want to avoid eating or drinking within at least 20 minutes on either side of taking them.
Homeopathy is one of the original energy medicines, and while not traditionally accepted in the U.S., it is used quite extensively in other parts of the world and can be quite effective. Homeopathy operates on a “like cures like” principle that has been used for more than 200 years and is now confirmed by an increasing number of research publications. This means that a patient suffering from symptoms can be treated by micro-doses of a substance capable of producing similar symptoms in a healthy person. Homeopathic medicines stimulate the body’s physiological reactions that restore health, with a very low risk of side effects due to the use of micro-doses.
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