Anti Jetlag Diet — another way to prevent jet lag?

by Grant Martin on

People are always trying to figure out ways to get around jet lag, the discomfort felt after traveling several hours on an aircraft. With symptoms as varied as loss of appetite, nausea, headaches, fatigue, irritability and depression, I suppose they have a reason to study the phenomenon.

Jet lag affects everyone, which is part of the reason that it’s so difficult to diagnose and treat. Everyone seems to have their own way to combat it and a variety of holistic, word-of-mouth and downright ridiculous methods are out there to get you through your ordeal.

Take the Anti Jetlag Diet. Invented by Charles Ehret, a scientist at Argonne National Laboratories, just outside of Chicago, the diet claims to relieve the stress of jet lag by preparing your body for the new time zone that you’re about to be in. Travelers are recommended to eat in a feast and famine style for several days before departure, gorging oneself one day, then eating trim the next — all on a adapted schedule that should hopefully integrate with your destination time zone (once you get there).

The thought is that by preparing the body for food cycles properly prior to departure you’ll have more ease adapting to the new system.

But will it work? I dunno. I’ve always felt that jet lag cures were like weight loss pills: it’s more in the body and mind than some trick or medication. Lots of sleep, physical activity and a gallon of coffee per day work just fine for me.

I guess what scratches me the wrong way about antijetlagdiet.com is how much they stress their ties with Argonne Labs, who are not generally commercial entities (think Sandia or Los Alamos). It makes me think of all of those weight loss pills that were “developed by doctors” but not approved by the FDA.

But hey, I’m just a kid who writes articles. Someone give the anti jet lag diet a try and let me know how it goes — especially if it works well.

Combine caffeine and naps for jet lag help

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s what I do to deal with jet lag. I don’t go to sleep much before I travel. I think I was a hamster in my past life. I’m the type who wants to get every last project done, every last dish washed, every last chore behind me before I head out the door. I ruminate. I become more compulsive than usual.

Sometimes, I stay up so late that going to bed may not make sense. That’s what happened before the good-deed travel Mexico trip. It got to be 4:00 a.m. and I thought, I’m getting up in two hours anyway, so why bother? I slept on the plane on and off, and went to bed early the following night. When I travel across time zones, this staying up late makes me tired enough that the jet lag is not as noticeable. I’m thrown off already, what’s a bit more?

When I was living in Singapore, one of my closest friend’s parents visited from the U.S. They are the hearty, cross-country skiing type who stay on a scheduled routine. Their answer to jet lag was to go on a long hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve almost as soon as they arrived at our apartment. Our complex edged the preserve which made hiking there pretty darned convenient. They went to bed when they normally do, and seemed not to suffer much. Getting out in the air and sunshine is one way diminish that groggy, disheveled feeling.

There was an article recently in the New York Times that explains how a combination of coffee and naps can help thwart jet lag. I suppose this is what I do, but less scientifically. I always order coffee and a club soda when I fly. Coffee for the boost, and soda water for the hydration. It feels fancier than regular water. Anything one can do to spruce up travel in my opinion.

The photo is of my 2nd cup of coffee on the Southwest flight. It’s slightly out of focus, but then, so was I.

Genius or Useless: The JetLag Light Visor

by Willy Volk on

Bio-Brite’s battery-powered JetLag Light Visor (“used by NASA Astronauts”) is a big white visor with a small light under the brim. Meant to help you reset your internal clock by providing light when your body needs it, the ad for the visor reads, “If it is dark or overcast out, or the weather is bad, or you are on an aeroplane you can use the Jetlag Light Visor to provide the necessary light stimulus.” How about just switching on the overhead light, like the guy sitting next to you?

If you think the Visor looks like a must-have for the upcoming summer travel season, $249 will score you a complete JetLag Kit, which includes the Visor, special “light-blocking dark glasses,” a booklet called “Preventing Jet Lag,” and a JetLag calculator — which can also be found online and which is suspiciously similar to the Jet Lag Advisor — all in a sturdy nylon travel bag.

The description doesn’t specify, but I imagine it also comes with a little remorse for having shelled out so much money for a pamphlet, some sunglasses, and a flashlight you strap to your head.