
Jet Lag ‘Cures’ Aplenty, but None That Work for All - kareemm
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/business/jet-lag-cures-aplenty-but-none-that-work-for-all.html?rref=health&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Health&pgtype=Blogs
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jballanc
Food is the key. People forget this so easily, but for most of our evolution
we did not have access to "3-squares a day". Hunger is a remarkable tool for
manipulating alertness and wakefulness.

The most common recommendation I've heard for jet lag is to stop eating 12
hours before breakfast in your destination's time zone. I've found this
strategy works for more than just jet lag though. If I'm up against a deadline
and need to put in a couple extra hours or pull an all-nighter, I'll skip two
or three meals. For the first 30-60 min after "normal" meal time you have to
deal with the hunger pangs, but then your body will switch into hunter-
gatherer mode and you'd be surprised how long you can maintain alertness.

Obviously this isn't a tool you can use frequently (and it's vital to remain
hydrated, especially if you're accustomed to drinking when you eat), but in a
pinch it's surprisingly effective.

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javert
> stop eating 12 hours before breakfast in your destination's time zone

> If I'm up against a deadline and need to put in a couple extra hours or pull
> an all-nighter, I'll skip two or three meals.

What is the underlying model to you that unifies these two cases?

I can't tell whether you're saying

(a) your body learns to become alert when food is going to become available,
and to sleep otherwise, or

(b) If you starve yourself, you get really alert for a while, which also
enentually tires you out, helping you to go to sleep after that.

Or possibly something else.

~~~
frivoal
It's (a). If you get substantial food while you were starving, your body will
guess that this time of the day is a good one to be awake at, in case the food
source is available every day at the same time.

So a solid breakfast after a short period of fast resets the internal clock.

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joezydeco
The only thing that has ever worked for me is to get on the destination's
clock as soon as possible.

The problem as I see it are airline crews that insist, no wait they _demand_ ,
that the cabin stay dark through the entire overnight flight. That denies your
body the visual response of sunrise and then the crew abruptly turns on all
the lights full-blast 60 minutes before landing, where it's now nearly noon at
the destination.

That insistance that you try to cram in a solid 8 hours sleep is what messes
people up. When going east, stay up as long as you can, take a shower then a
nap in the mid-afternoon, then stay up as late as you can make it that evening
without overdoing caffeine or drugs. I'm 80% normal the next day and 100% fine
after that. One day per timezone to acclimate? That's insane if people really
are hit that hard.

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tsotha
I guess I do it the brute force way. When I get to my destination I force
myself to stay up until bed time in that time zone, and then get up after
eight hours. I'm out of sorts for a day and that's it.

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emodendroket
How far afield have you gone? I can't imagine that cutting it for an Asia-US
trip.

~~~
Espressosaurus
It works--ish for Asia->US and back. I still find myself waking up around 3am
local every so often for the next week or so however. And 3pm I need to get up
and walk around for about 15 minutes or I find myself drifting off.

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malthaus
Xanax. It's a miracle drug at least for me. Just be cautious and don't take it
when you have addictive tendencies and best to discuss with a doctor of
course. I also don't drink when i take them.

I usually fly long-distance over night and time it to sleep 2x4h in the
destination-timezone during the flight with a drink/walking break inbetween.

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mikehollinger
I used to live in Asia, and travel back to the US quarterly. Of course, now I
live in the US and travel back to Asia quarterly. ;-)

What I've found that works for me is to "throw off" my sleep schedule the
night before a trip; I sleep for 3-4 hours (usually catching an 8AM flight),
then while on the trans-pacific leg, I sleep / eat / read / game every couple
of hours.

Whenever I "switch" to a new part of the rotation, I get up for a walk around
the cabin. I end up getting a few hours of sleep in power naps, watching a
couple of movies or reading a decent chunk of a book, or taking care of some
work.

When I land, I go find a source of caffeine, and then fall back into the
"regular" meal schedule for wherever. Dinner at 7 or 8-ish, and I make sure to
eat an actual breakfast. Finally, I take melatonin for one or two nights, and
then try to sleep naturally.

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bhc3
I've flown to Germany from San Francisco several times. Nine time zones away.
The flight leaves early afternoon in SF, and I'm in Germany by late morning.
The travel included a 40 minute train ride from Frankfurt. I sleep very little
on flights, and I'm exhausted on that train ride.

I used to try the "stay awake until night" method once I was in Germany. It
wasn't very effective, I didn't adjust for several days. I then tried
something different.

As soon as I get to my hotel (around lunchtime), I take a nap of 3 hours or
so. I don't let myself sleep beyond that. I then get up and do some
activities. I have dinner at the regular local time and then go to sleep at
the usual time in the evening.

I've found that I rapidly adjust to the local time and have very little jet
lag thereafter. It's that initial nap upon arrival that makes the difference.

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anarazel
There's now flights from SFO that leave to Frankfurt around 9pm local time -
for me that already made a big difference. It allows me to at least sleep 2-3
hours instead of the usual 30 minutes in 5 minute chunks.

> As soon as I get to my hotel (around lunchtime), I take a nap of 3 hours or
> so. I don't let myself sleep beyond that. I then get up and do some
> activities. I have dinner at the regular local time and then go to sleep at
> the usual time in the evening.

Yea, I found that to be much better as well. It additionaly seems to help
tremendously to do an hour or two of sport after that nap. I feel being
physically exhausted helps to get adjusted much quicker, because I sleep much
deeper the following night. It's awfully hard to convince yourself to start
tho.

EDIT: language

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reacweb
Since 2007 ig nobel, I thought it was a solved problem:
[http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070521/full/news070521-1.htm...](http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070521/full/news070521-1.html)
;-)

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zigggi
Anyone know the science behind this;

[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ayo-light-based-energy-
bo...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ayo-light-based-energy-boosting-
wearable/x/1802366#/story)

"On each trip, Ayo customizes your Ayo-wearing schedule, telling you when to
wear the glasses to best adjust your internal body clock to your the new time
zone."

~~~
coldtea
Not into detail, but sounds obviously trying to make the migration from one
timezone to another smoother, by varying the amount of light you get during
the day (from what you would get from one point in Earth to what you get in
the other place).

That, and sleep scedule, which is closely related, is what causes the jet lag.

