I have travelled extensively. I have been in the rugged deserts of Northern India and the Middle East, and watched the sun-set from the desert. I have travelled in the super fast Amtrack and the pathetically slow Janta Express!
I have been in Air several times, crossed borders while in the comfort of pretty airlines and some-not-so pleasant air stewardess.
The reason I am telling you all this, so that you’re convinced and follow my advice on how to avoid jet lags.
First of What is Jet-Lag?
Just as our day has been divided into 24 hours, and we do things on set schedule, our body too has an internal clock-a combination of physiological processes which reminds our brain that hey Kishore, it’s time to sleep now.so the eyes become heavy!
Hey kishore, you’re hungry now and the stomach demands food. These’reminders and alerts’ inside our body are synchronized by our’physical’ clock which is 12:30pm, 11:24 pm etc.
When you cross several time zones(as in the case of air-travel) you’re forcing a discrepancy between your internal body’s clock and the’physical clock.’ This causes insomnia at 11:40PM, you desire for dinner at 5:00 AM. Your body’s clock is still functioning to the place where you departed from. This is Jet-Lag. I apologize due to time constraints, I cannot dwell much! Yeah right, as if I did not ramble enough!
How do you avoid Jet-Lag?
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You cannot avoid Jet-Lag. Period. Simple! Only time can synchronize your body with the local time. In some cases, Jet lags can last for 10 days!
I have a simple formula, I have tried and tested it. It works for me. This is the reason I can be in London one day and come back to Bombay at night and get to work in the morning!
Kishore’s Formula:
In a nutshell Do as the Romans are doing it right now! Which means no sooner do you get on the plane, then set your clock to the current time at your landing airport.
I know it’s confusing. Let me explain how this works.
Let’s say you are flying from Boston(USA) to India on Lufthansa, via Frankfurt(Germany). Boston is on EST and India on IST. EST is -10 1/2 hours of IST. Frankfurt is -3 1/2 hours of EST.
So as soon as you get on the plane in Boston, after the meal(if they serve you one!) set your clock to the local time in Frankfurt. Most airplanes constantly display the local time for arrival and departure airports! After having set the clock to Frankfurt’s time, let your body function as if you are in Germany. If it’s night in Germany, snuggle in your seat and go to sleep! If it’s early morning in germany, do not sleep in the airplane, even if you are tempted to!
Ok, once you reach Frankfurt, your body will react to the local time there and you will be ready to conquer the world. Similarly, after takeoff from Frankfurt for Bombay, and after having settled in the aircraft, set your watch to the local time in Bombay and adjust your body according.
Believe me, once your flight lands in Bombay, and your watch shows the local time, your body will also act as per the local time. Within few hours you will be all set! If you land in Bombay at 1:00 pm, it’s afternoon in Bombay. Do NOT GO TO SLEEP EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT SLEPT IN 376years! Sleep only when the sun goes down in Bombay!
I am sure you will overcome any JetLag if you carefully read my ramblings once again. Any question, do email me by going to my profile page.