What can one do to alleviate jet lag?

To alleviate jet lag, Andrew Huberman recommends several strategies involving light exposure, exercise, and managing sleep schedules:

1. Bright Light Exposure: Exposure to bright light in the morning can help reset your circadian clock by mimicking a sunrise effect. This signals your brain’s circadian rhythms to adjust, aiding in faster adaptation to the new time zone. It’s effective to expose yourself to bright light for a few days before and after your travel 1.

2. Find Your Temperature Minimum: Determine your temperature minimum (the time when your body temperature is the lowest, usually early morning). Manipulating your light exposure and activity around this time can significantly help in advancing or delaying your internal clock depending on whether you’re traveling east or west. This could involve engaging in exercise or having a meal after your temperature minimum if you need to advance your clock, or before if you need to delay it. These adjustments should start a couple of days before your journey 2.

3. Managing Sleep and Activity Schedules: Try to align your sleep and meal times with those of your destination a few days before you travel. When you arrive, continue to match local times for meals and activities. Use bright light exposure in the morning or exercise to help stay alert and adjust to the new time zone 3.

   • 

     1

     Circadian Clock Insights

     00:32:22
   • 

     2

     Shift Your Circadian Clock

     00:36:26
   • 

     3

     Travel Fatigue Tips

     00:53:46

4. Short Trips: If your trip is short (3 days or less), it might be easier to maintain your home schedule as closely as possible rather than trying to adapt to the new time zone. This minimizes disruption to your circadian rhythm 3.

These methods leverage natural cues to help your body adjust to new time zones, diminishing the impact of jet lag.