How to avoid Jet Lag

Posted under My own observation, Videos by heike

 

I have suffered a great deal of Jet Lag in the past on my trips to Europe. It seems to be worse flying Eastward and had little effect on my body flying Westward. There were a couple mistakes I made that did not help the Jet Lag and perhaps made it worse. Last year when I went back to Europe I followed some tips that are mentioned below and I had no problem at all.

Here are a couple of tips to prevent Jet Lag:

• Exercise the day before the travel.
• Drink plenty of bottled water on the plane.
• Avoid alcohol, because of altitude, pressurization and dehydration, one drink during your flight has the alcoholic equivalent of nearly two and a half on the ground.
• Trip stretching while you are still traveling
• Don’t take any naps at the new time zone, try to stay awake until 11 pm to get into the natural rhythm.
• Eat plenty of healthy food before the travel, during the travel and after the travel.
• Eat brown rice , Melatonin is also synthesized by various plants, such as rice.
• Take over the counter Melatonin after travel.
• Take a yoga class or practice in the hotel room
• Reflexology, very important to stimulate the Pineal Gland, part of your Endocrine System
• Take walks after the long flight, get as much fresh air as possible

 

Melatonin 

Melatonin is a hormone (N-acetyl-5 methoxytryptamine) produced especially at night in the pineal gland. The pineal is a key element in the maintenance of the body’s endocrine regulation (hormone balance), immune system integrity, and circadian rhythm (daily metabolic balance).The pineal gland functions as a biological clock by secreting melatonin (along with many other neuropeptides) at night. The pineal gland serves as the timekeeper of the brain, helping to govern the sleep-wake cycle and, in animals, seasonal rhythms of migration, mating, and hibernation. Secretion of melatonin is stimulated by the dark and inhibited by light. The secretion of melatonin follows a daily rhythm governed by the body’s master clock. Melatonin levels are low during the day. At sunset, the cessation of light triggers neural signals which stimulate the pineal gland to begin releasing melatonin.

Melatonin is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan

. Tryptophan (l-tryptophan) is an essential amino acid formed from proteins during digestion by the action of proteolytic enzymes. Tryptophan is converted to serotonin and finally converted to melatonin which is an indole. The tryptophan during the day is converted into serotonin, a brain chemical involved with mood. Serotonin, in turn, is converted into melatonin. Synthetic melatonin and melatonin derived from bovine pineal glands are available as over-the-counter dietary supplements. Melatonin occurs naturally in some foods but in fairly small amounts. Of all the plant-based foods, oats, sweet corn and rice are richest in melatonin, containing between 1,000 and 1,800 picograms of melatonin per gram. Ginger, tomatoes, bananas and barley have about 500 picograms per gram. In the human population, melatonin levels are highest in children. Healthy young and middle-aged adults usually secrete about 5 to 25 micrograms of melatonin each night. The amount of melatonin the body secretes tends to decline with age, a possible link with an age-related rise in difficulty sleeping.

 

Exercises to do during travel:

 

What to avoid:

 

Another great link to watch: http://www.ihealthtube.com/aspx/viewvideo.aspx?v=5e28865bf33c36d1

http://www.vitamins-supplements.org/hormones/melatonin.php