5 Ways To Minimize Jet Lag

Lack of restorative sleep time can have a huge impact on your wellbeing.   During this time of year - with travels and holiday festivities -  your normal sleeping pattern may have been thrown off. Because getting restorative sleep can be hard during this period, I thought I would do some research on what science has to say about the impact of jet lag on circadian rhythms and more. I collected a lot of great information, but wanted to keep the list short for this post. With the intention of being succinct, I am sharing with you 5 evidence-based approaches to help you recover and minimize the effects of feeling jet lag and changes in your circadian rhythm. May you rest better after reading these tips!

1. Expose yourself to natural light during the morning

Natural light can help you rebalance your circadian rhythms by exposing yourself to blue light. Additionally, being exposed to ultraviolet light can help your skin produce vitamin D - a natural anti-inflammatory chemical.  Two great reasons to go for a walk or to work outdoors in the morning! 

2. Take a warm shower or bath in the evening  

Research has shown that lower environmental temperatures at night may help prepare the body for sleep.  The drop in your body temperature after taking a warm shower or bath may help induce sleep.

3. Minimize your exposure to blue light for at least 2 hours before sleep  

Commit to not using any electronic devices that emit blue light close to bedtime. Blue light can stimulate your nervous system, so that it is harder to go asleep.  You can use a free program called f.lux on your computer, if you cannot help but use your electronic devices. You can also buy amber glasses, like Gunnars, to do the same trick.  

4. Practice meditation and yoga

Research has shown certain forms of meditations and yoga may help with sleep by increasing melotonin levels. Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant and seems to help trigger restorative sleep.  If you want a guided meditation practice, you can check out one of my youtube meditation sessions or practice the below meditation practice. Otherwise, practice something you already know.  Note: keep it simple and practical since you are already jet lagged, in other words feeling stressed out.

Breath and Attention Meditation Exercise

Feel free to sit or be in any position that feels comfortable to you.  You are welcome to have your eyes closed or opened (with opened eyes make sure you are facing something like a plain wall to minimize your distractions).  

1. Inhale 1, exhale 1

2. Inhale 2, exhale 2

3. Inhale 3, exhale 3

Repeat up to 21 times. If you lose count, start over again.  You can use a timer and set it for seven minutes.  In general, 15-20 minutes of meditation a day is supported by research to reduce stress.   I recommend starting with what you already practice. If you have never meditated before, start with maybe 5 breaths or 1 minute of meditation.  Over time, you will develop your meditation muscles and be able to practice longer and reap more benefits from your practice.

5. Improve your digestion

With changes in circadian rhythms, metabolism can be disrupted (ex. liver metabolism, bile function, and fat digestion).  Make sure you chew your food thoroughly to promote better digestion and to balance the lag in your digestive organs.  Avoid or reduce your alcohol intake as well.  

References:

Yetish, G., Kaplan H., Gurven M., Wood B., Pontzer, H., Manger P.R., Wilson C., McGregor R., Siegel J.M. Natural Sleep and Its Seasonal Variations in Three Pre-Industrial Societies.  Current Biology, November 2015, 25(21): 2862-8. 

Smolensky, M.H., Sackett-Lundeen L.L., Portaluppi F. Noctunal Light Pollution and Underexposure to Daytime Sunlight: Complementary Mechanishms of Circadian Disruption and Related Diseases.  Chronobiology International, October 2015 32(8): 1029-48

Tooley, G. A., S. M. Armstrong, T. R. Norman, and A. Sali. Acute increases in night- time plasma melatonin levels following a period of meditation. Biological Psychology, May 2000, 53(1):69-78. 

Ge W, Chen G, Ding Y-T. Effect of chewing gum on the postoperative recovery of gastrointestinal function. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine. 2015;8(8):11936-11942.

It Starts With Your Hips

In previous work, I discussed how current anthropological research has associated the development of shorter and wider hips in humans with our ability to move more with more ease in a biped position. Such findings provides more support on how integral hips play in human movement and posture. Because of their importance in movement, I tend to focus a lot on factors that can help this part of the body move with more ease during training sessions.

That being said, I would love to share with you some basic exercises I did to maintain and balance my range of motion in my hips and SI joints (the area where your spine and hips meet) as I rehabilitated from a neck injury this year.  In the video below,  I included some exercises that helped me not lose my ability to squat and walk with more ease; activities that became difficult to do when I injured my neck. 

If you have Ankylosing Spondylitis (an autoimmune condition) like me, these exercises may help you relieve some tension and perceived aches around the SI joints associated with neural and muscular imbalances, along with inflammation.  There are definitely more exercises to help with this condition, but I wanted to cover some of the basic ones for beginners and people returning back to movement after a flare, like mine. 

When I shot this video - several months ago -  I wasn’t able to move very much.  If you know anyone suffering from this similar condition, please forward them this video.  Please help me help as many people as possible.  

Lastly, you don’t have to have AS to benefit from practicing these exercises.  You can think of these exercises as a form of mindful movement; incorporating the benefits of body awareness, breath work, meditation, focus, relaxation, and core strength.  

I highly recommend you view the complete video before performing these exercises. And please let me know what you think about them. Lastly, please double check with your doctor and/or physical therapist to make sure these exercises are appropriate for you.  

Now let’s get started!

My Trial With A Vibration Plate!

A couple of months ago, I sprained my neck due to choking on some fish bones. SCARY, I know! Since then, I have noticed a decrease in pain and an increase in ROM in my neck rotation whenever I engage in activities that help clear my lymphatic system (ex. manual lymphatic drainage and lymphatic breathing). After reading and hearing from colleagues that the vibration plate may help support the pumping of my lymphatic system, I was curious to explore if it could help me heal faster.

As part of my experiment, I decided to do 4 sets of squats in 30-second intervals at 30 Hz (the speed of vibration).  I used my iPhone to video record my neck rotation before and after each set. In the end, I produced 12 videos in total. You might be thinking that I could have used a more precise method of measuring my neck rotation, but this is what I had access at the time of my experiment. In the future, I may use a goniometer.  

After looking at my neck rotation on video, I measured a bit of improvement in my ROM from my first to my last session (I did a total of three sessions). Whether this progress was due to using the vibration plate or not, I cannot tell you. What I do know is that after every session from performing squats on the vibration plate, I felt more energy and less pain than the days that I did squats without the vibration plate. The increase in energy and decrease in sensation of pain would last, on average, for two hours. Then I would notice feeling more tired than normal at night on the days that I would use the vibration plate.

From my experience, I would probably use the vibration plate again for changing up my exercise routine and for possible benefits in lymphatic stimulation.

For more information on the lymphatic system, click here. 

To watch a video with Dave Asprey on why he uses a vibration plate, click here.  

To watch a great demonstration on how to perform a self-manual lymphatic drainage for congestion, click here to view the video.