Discover strategies for preventing and managing jet lag; learn about adjusting sleep schedules with melatonin when traveling across different time zones and how our bodies can adapt and improve sleep.
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Quick takeaways
Maintaining a stable wake-up time and getting exposure to sunlight helps regulate our circadian rhythm and ensure a predictable sleep experience.
To mitigate jet lag, individuals can adjust their circadian rhythm ahead of time and expose themselves to sunlight at the destination.
Deep dives
The Importance of Maintaining a Stable Wake-Up Time and Exposure to Sunlight
Maintaining a stable wake-up time and getting exposure to sunlight is crucial for regulating our circadian rhythm and ensuring a predictable sleep experience. Our circadian rhythm, controlled by a master clock in our brain, is responsible for our feelings of alertness throughout the day. Sunlight acts as a key environmental stimulus for our circadian rhythm. Therefore, it is recommended to maintain a stable wake-up time to get sunlight in the morning, as this helps set in motion a feeling of alertness that persists throughout the day.
Strategies for Dealing with Jet Lag
Jet lag occurs when our circadian system is not aligned with the local time at our destination. To mitigate jet lag, there are both preventative and reactive strategies. Preventatively, individuals can start adjusting their circadian rhythm ahead of time by shifting their wake-up and sleep times closer to the time zone they will be in. Once experiencing jet lag, it is important to get up at the local time, even if it is not desired, and expose oneself to sunlight to signal the brain to adapt to the new environment. Additionally, using melatonin as a supplement to aid in adjusting to the new sleep schedule has been shown to be effective. It is recommended to take a low dose of melatonin, about five hours before desired bedtime at the destination, to signal the body to start producing its own melatonin, aiding in the transition to sleep.
Whether traveling internationally for work or on vacation, we all encounter the reality of jet-lag. In this episode, we look at ways to sync mind, body, and local time zone.