healthmedicinet

By
Helen Foster

Published:
20:38 EST, 11 August 2014

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Updated:
04:49 EST, 12 August 2014

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Avoiding jet lag could be as simple as altering what you eat

Jet
lag is the scourge of business trips and long-haul holidays. But new
research claims the answer to avoiding it could be as simple as altering
what you eat when you reach your destination.

Jet lag occurs when your brain thinks it’s one time but, because you’ve flown to different time zone, it’s another.

This
puts your body clock out of sync with what you are doing – leading to
symptoms such as disturbed sleep at night, sleepiness in the day,
constipation and headaches.

It’s most common if you travel anywhere
more than five hours different in time from your home country, though in
sensitive people it can be triggered by going to countries with just
two hours’ difference.

Those flying east suffer most, as this
involves going to bed earlier than your body expects as you adapt to
local time – far harder than pushing yourself to go to bed later than
usual.

However, Japanese researchers think they’ve found a solution.
According to a team at Yamaguchi University, insulin – the hormone
released when we eat – plays a role in synchronising the body clock.
It’s
thought that raising insulin levels helps to slow down the body clock
in the liver, which has a knock-on effect on the clock in the brain –
pushing your clock forward and helping you fall asleep earlier.

So,
when you reach your destination, if you want to go to sleep, eat
carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta or rice, which trigger the release
of a lot of insulin. But if you want to stay awake longer, protein or
fat, such as bacon and eggs, which triggers a lower insulin release, can
help.

Timing your carbs isn’t the only thing to help fight jet lag. Here are some other tips…

CHANGE YOUR SLEEP PATTERN BEFORE A TRIP

Anything you can do to adjust your body clock before or during travel will help you throw off jet lag more quickly.

‘If
you’re travelling east, going to bed and getting up progressively
earlier for two or three days before the flight can help. If you’re
going west, delaying bedtime/wake-up times can help,’ says James
Waterhouse, professor of biological rhythms at Liverpool John Moores
University.

You can get another head-start on the plane by setting
your watch to local time and sleeping or staying awake accordingly –
though Professor Waterhouse advises against using sleeping tablets to do
it. To stay alert, he suggests sucking lemon slices.

FAST FOR 12 HOURS

The
body has many internal clocks but, when it comes to jet lag, evidence
suggests two types matter: the ones activated by light and ones set by
meal times.

Fasting for 12 to 16 hours before arriving at your
destination (drinking water is OK) resets the clock to zero, according
to a 2008 Harvard University study.

If you arrive before 10am, eat
as soon as you land to help your body clock adapt quickly. Try to have a
light, protein-filled breakfast to keep you awake for the day.

If you arrive after lunch, have a carb-based meal at 4pm, then stay off food until breakfast at 8am the next day.

Fasting for 12 to 16 hours before arriving at your destination (drinking water is OK) resets the clock

TAKE PINE BARK PILLS

Italian
researchers say jet lag is aggravated by the fact flying causes slight
swelling of the body and brain – oedema – which causes fatigue and
headaches on top of symptoms you get from time changes.

Brain scans
suggest the pine bark-based supplement Pycnogenol can reduce swelling,
cutting symptoms of jet lag by 50 per cent. Another study found taking
the supplement cuts jet lag symptoms from 39 hours to 18 hours. It’s
thought to improve circulation to the brain, which may help reduce fluid
build-up.

‘Try 50mg of Pycnogenol three times daily for seven days,
starting two days before the flight,’ says study author Dr Gianni
Belcaro, a cardiovascular researcher at the G. D’Annunzio University in
Italy.

VISIT MUSEUMS  IN THE MORNING

If you’ve travelled west,
going to museums in the morning and parks in the afternoon is
recommended by pharmacologist Dr Andrew Herxheimer from Oxford’s UK
Cochrane Centre, which analyses clinical trials.

If you travel east, it’s the opposite.

1966

The year the term ‘jet lag’ first appeared

‘Exposure
to light is the most important cue for synchronising circadian rhythms
(the 24-hour cycle that controls when we eat, sleep and perform at our
peak),’ he says.

‘After a westward flight, avoid bright light in the
morning and seek out light in the evening. Eastward travellers should
seek out light in the morning.’

To help work out what to do,
download the free Entrain smartphone app. Created by researchers at the
University of Michigan, it claims to speed up the time it takes to
retrain your body clock to adjust to a new time zone, from an average
eight days to three.

In theory, it takes a day to adjust to each
time zone you travel across going east – if you’re going west, it takes a
day to adjust for every one-and-a-half time zones (for the U.S.,
roughly three days).
With the app, free from iTunes, you tap in where
you are, how bright it is and it’ll tell you exactly when to head
outside into bright light and when not to.

The inventors are using
passenger experience to prove its efficacy. Sleep expert Dr Charles Bae
at the U.S. Cleveland Clinic says: ‘It makes sense. Anything you can do
to maximise adjustment without medication is welcomed.’

Don’t try to stay up all night to ensure a whole night’s sleep the next

FOUR HOURS’ SLEEP ON THE FIRST NIGHT

‘Anchor
sleeping’ means ensuring you get at least four hours of sleep on the
first night you arrive at your destination country.

So, don’t try to
stay up all night to ensure a whole night’s sleep the next. ‘It does
what the name suggests and anchors your body clock into a rhythm,’ says
Professor Waterhouse.

WEAR A PAIR OF RE-TIMER GLASSES

These £199 glasses have been developed by Flinders University in Australia to deliver doses of green light.

‘Green
light is one of the most effective wavelengths for advancing or
delaying the body clock, helping transition into a new time zone,’ says
Flinders sleep specialist Professor Leon Lack.

Because green light
suppresses melatonin, the glasses should be used at the time of day when
you want to delay or stop tiredness – in the evening in New York or
first thing for trips to Asia. They should be worn for 30 to 60 minutes a
day. See re-timer.com. 

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