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Avoiding Jet Lag

Changing your sleeping habits by adjusting your clocks to the destination time may be one way to help avoid jet lag but it’s not always possible, especially if you have anything to do the day before you travel. According to Dr. Clifford Saper of Harvard Medical School, fasting before a big time zone change may help prevent jet lag.

Normally, the body’s natural circadian clock in the brain dictates when to wake, eat and sleep, all in response to light. But it seems a second clock takes over when food is scarce, and manipulating this clock might help travelers adjust to new time zones, they said.

“A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock,” said Dr. Clifford Saper of Harvard Medical School, whose study appears in the journal Science.

He said a person from the United States traveling to Japan must adjust to a 11-hour time change.

“Because the body’s clock can only shift a small amount each day, it takes the average person about a week to adjust to the new time zone. And, by then, it’s often time to come home,” Saper said in a statement.

Saper and colleagues knew that when food is scarce, animals are able to override their normal biological clock to improve their chances of finding food.

The bbc version: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm
The reuters version: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2252042720080522

Other Methods

Other methods used in combination with fasting may do the trick. Try to stay hydrated, avoid alcohol, eat foods high in protein after you arrive at your destination, and avoid staying indoors if you arrive at your destination during the daylight hours. The sunlight will help.

Whatever you do, don’t take a nap if you arrive early in the morning. It will only make your jet lag worse in the long run.

Go ahead and say it… duh!!! It’s just common sense right?