3 tips to beat jetlag

That trip across the Atlantic to fulfill your lifelong dream of walking through the ruins of Rome has left you feeling out of sorts at work. You find yourself nodding off during the day, but up until the wee hours of the morning.

Stress and sleep


Dr. Owen Wiseman, ND
@@drowenwiseman


17 January 2018

You’ve been more irritable than normal and the persistent constipation definitely isn’t helping.

Sound familiar? Chances are that if you’ve traveled outside your time zone, you’ve fallen prey to the symptoms of jetlag with those crossing over five zones most at risk. To understand why this throws your body and mind into chaos, one must first understand the function of the body’s internal clock.

Circadian rhythms

Deep in the brain, within the hypothalamus, is a collection of approximately 20,000 neurons responsible for regulating circadian rhythms. This area, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), shares connections to areas of the brain responsible for regulating many of our ‘rhythmic’ functions such as hormone levels, how alert you feel throughout the day, digestive function, and body temperature amongst others. While the SCN does not require direct environmental input to control the rhythm, such input helps to keep the 24h period consistent.

For example, in a study conducted by the co-founders of chronobiology – the study of time in relation to the body – Gustav Kramer and Jürgen Aschoff, participants were placed in a soundproof underground bunker for 4 weeks. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether humans would maintain their rhythms without environmental cues such as sunlight. Throughout the study, the participants ‘24h period’ shifted forward, but they maintained all of their bodily functions and physiologic levels at the typical times in their new rhythms. For instance, if they usually had a bowel movement after waking up at 6am to get ready for work, they still had this urge after rising even if their new waking time had shifted to 11am.

Light plays a major role in holding the circadian rhythm in the same time frame each day. Within the back of the eye, in the layer known as the retina, cells respond to light and send an electrical signal to the hypothalamus and the SCN. This information is then analyzed to determine the intensity of light which basically allows the body to understand the time of day. The SCN processes the information and regulates the various functions touched upon earlier according to demands of cells based on that specific time.

Dysregulation of the circadian rhythm

Dysregulation of the circadian rhythm can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. One of the hallmark features of many mental health issues is a disturbed sleep/wake cycle. Neurotransmitters are all regulated by the SCN which determines the optimal time for their release and when it’s best to tone them down. For example, those with depression are found to be deficient in the following neurotransmitters :

  • Serotonin – influences mood (irritability, anger), sleep, and sexual activity
  • Dopamine – influences our sense of reward and interest
  • Norepinephrine – influences feelings of excitement and initiative

So now we see why jetlag could produce feelings of irritability or stress.

When travel plans take you outside of your time zone, the body responds to new environmental cues that reset the circadian rhythms. 7:00pm in Toronto is 9:00am in Tokyo, so your circadian rhythm needs to shift all of your biological functions forward to match this…otherwise you could end up waking in the night and sprinting for the nearest bathroom.

Finally, the SCN contributes to an individual’s overall metabolism. Disruption of circadian rhythms leads to gains of fat mass and reductions in lean mass, irregular eating habits as the hormones for both the stimulation and suppression of appetite are released at odd times, changes in glucose metabolism, and increased energy demands to meet the effects of disturbed sleep patterns.

The following 3 tips are ways to help manage the effects of jetlag :

  • Sleep as though you’ve already traveled. If you know you’re going on a trip, research the area and understand the time zone that you’ll be entering. This way, you can slowly start to shift your sleep schedule towards that of your destination. If you normally go to bed at 10pm, but that’s going to be 1am in your destination city, going to bed a little earlier in the days leading up to your departure will allow you to fall asleep sooner than 1am in the travel city. Vice versa for traveling backwards in time zones. In this case, you’d want to stay up until about 1am so when you fly home, you feel tired around your usual 10pm bedtime.
  • Purposefully book a layover. If you break up your 8-hour flight into two 4-hour blocks, your sleep schedule becomes a lot more manageable. Booking an extra day in a city other than your destination may not be ideal for some, but it can be a great chance to explore a place you would have otherwise flown over!
  • Sleep aids. While it isn’t recommended to take sleep aids all the time lest you become dependent on them, they can help shift your body into the time zone of your destination if they’re taken around your anticipated bed time as though you were in the new city. Products such as Deep Sleep contain valerian root which has been shown to suppress excitatory circuits in the brain that contribute to wakefulness. Valerian root extract has also been shown to mitigate anxiety and bodily stress, both of which can result from jetlag, so it’s a win-win!

References

https://www.mpg.de/943613/S003_Flashback_060_061.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725187/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3760618/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033528/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4065364/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5142605/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28894915
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29035887
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29113012
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29198725

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