Coping With Jetlag
One of the most popular treatments for jet-lag is the use of melatonin tablets, despite conflicting research. A group of Swiss scientists said they do relieve jetlag; some Canadian researchers say they don’t. Still, it is widely held that melatonin has an impact on biological clocks and sleep-wake cycle regulation.
And since the ability of the body to produce melatonin is dependent on the presence of light, it makes sense to hypothesize that to fight jetlag, you’ll have to play with your exposure to light and trick your body to produce the right melatonin concentrations at the right time. How do you do this?
Try this interactive table prepared by UK’s leading sleep expert, Dr. Chris Idzikowski. Simply enter what time you usually wake up in the mornings and the current time at your origin and destination, and the calculator will generate recommendations as to when it would be optimal for you to expose yourself to light.
For example, I usually wake up at 7 am and I just returned from Manila, a 7 hour difference to home. This is the advice I got:
Day 1
Avoid light between 9:00 am to 11:30 am
Seek light between 11:30 am to 14:00 pm
Day 2
Avoid light between 5:00 am to 7:30 am
Seek light between 7:30 am to 10:00 am
It says any form of light is ok, best would of course be day light. “Avoiding light” means simply drawing the blinds or putting on eye masks.
Along with adjusting physical activities and meal times, I can imagine how it can work. Try it on your next time-zone-crossing trip!
Technorati Tags: jet lag, jetlag, melatonin, time zones, flying, air travel
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POSTED IN: General : Asia Travel, Getting There and Away : Asia
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