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Staying Healthy
How to reset your internal clock to combat jet lag
A few simple measures can help minimize the sleep disturbances and malaise that can occur when you cross several time zones.
Image: faithiecannoise/iStock
This month we perform the annual ritual of turning back our clocks as Daylight Savings Time ends. Most of us can handle the one-hour time change easily. However, when we travel long distances across several time zones, few of us can survive the trip without feeling a little out of whack. For holiday travelers flying from coast to coast or overseas, recovering from the symptoms of jet lag—fatigue, insomnia, digestive upsets, and headaches—can consume a day or two of precious vacation time. According to Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, jet lag is due to a misalignment between the external environment and the internal clock in the brain that drives our daily performance, alertness, and the ability to sleep.
What happens during jet lag
Minimizing jet lag
If your destination is only a zone or two away, you may need to make only minor adjustments, like eating meals, going to bed, and awakening a little earlier or later than usual. If you're crossing several time zones, you may want to try the following:
Gradually switch to the new time. For several days before you leave, move mealtimes and bedtime incrementally closer to the schedule of your destination. Even a partial switch may help.
Stay hydrated. During the flight, drink plenty of fluids, but not caffeine or alcohol. Caffeine and alcohol can dehydrate you, which worsens the symptoms of jet lag. They can also disturb your sleep.
Switch your bedtime as rapidly as possible after arrival. Don't turn in until it is bedtime in the new time zone.
Use the sun to help you readjust. If you need to wake up earlier at your destination, get out in the early morning sun. If you want to rise later than you do at home, wait to go out in the sun until late in the afternoon.
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