After flying all night to Europe, I manage to get a few hours sleep on the plane. Arriving in Paris or London at 6am, I somehow manage through the day. The problem usually comes in the late afternoon, when 5pm feels like 11pm and exhaustion sets in. This can suddenly happen at any time however, when I suddenly feel drained of energy. Overcoming jet lag becomes my top priority on trips as I want to get as much business done, and as much fun as possible in my time abroad! Jet lag remedies are also useful as there are the less obvious symptoms we all experience such as digestive disorders, nausea, dizziness, lack of concentration and memory.
Jet Lag Remedies – East West Difference
How to manage this? Well, resetting the body’s bio-clock, or circadian rhythms, is essential that first day. Nothing beats being outs getting sunshine ! Or, even if there’s no sun in winter, there’s enough electromagnetic radiation form the sun to affect our brains, resetting the melitonin release that rules our sleep-wake cycle. There’s actually a reaction from light going from the eyes directly into the brain as there’s an anatomical pathway from the eyes to the brain’s hypothalamus to the pineal gland where melitonin is secreted. Light going in the eye will switch off the melitonin which makes us so sleepy at night. Have you ever noticed how sensitive animals are to the dark? The moment the light goes they are out for the count. If flying West, try to go outdoors especially in the afternoons, flying East getting out in the mornings is better.
Jet Lag Tips: Use Your Body’s Chinese Meridian System
This short video was taken when I’d just arrived in London, and beginning to feel I needed ways to prevent jet lag! The idea here is that each of the Chinese meridians – lines along which acupuncture lines are inserted – is associated with a 2-hour time period. Flying from Montreal to London has a five hour time difference. In London, at 7pm, the body is in ‘kidney time’, but at home in Montreal the time is 1pm – ‘intestinal time’. We can use this as a jet lag remedy- if we boost the ‘chi’ flow of energy through the Kidney meridian when in London, at 7pm, we’re giving a definite message to our body to ‘re-adjust’.
Luckily our palms radiate all sorts of energy – electric, magnetic, infra-red, ultrasound amongst a few. Rather like a hair brush causing ‘static’ energy when brushing hair, the palms can be used to stimulate these meridian lines, and therefore Chi of that organ. Now, it’s hard to remember where these meridian lines are, however I spent 10 minuted a day for a week learning them, and now can use this method not just for jet lag prevention, but any time I’m feeling tired or out of sorts.
As someone who flies a lot, I really want to help people with this. It’s all in my book, Medical to Mystical, Bring Light Into Your Life
However for ease of use I’ve also included the meridian pictures underneath. What you could do is think about which time of day you commonly feel most tired (and this doesn’t need to be all related to jet lag prevention but to any day!). Check which meridian and organ ‘time zone’ this is. Learn the one exercise necessary to boost the Chi of this meridian.
Meridian Techniques For Dealing With Jet Lag
In all my drawings I have indicated a starting and end point of these lines. This is the direction in which they are meant to be stimulated with the hand (or hold a crystal, or small torch for even better effects). The first time you do it, stroke the line the ‘wrong’ way. Then do again, in he ‘correct’ direction, 3 times.
Especially focus on the beginning and ends of the line – use more pressure here, feeling for any points of tenderness – this will be where you need to give them a good rub!. Often this will be around the front of the shoulder, the temples, or under the inner ends of the collar bone.
Below are the drawings from my book ‘Medical to Mystical’. Please click here for more details
7am-9am
Place both hands under the eyes, move down to your jawbone, then circle up the outside of your face to your forehead, and move down through your eyes to the collarbone, down over the chest, in at the waist, then out at the hips, straight down the front of the legs and finish at the second toe.
9am- 11am
Start at the outside corners of each big toe and go straight up the inside of your legs, moving out of your hips, up the side of your ribcage and down to the lower outer ribcage.
11am- 1pm
Place your open hand underneath the opposite armpit on the same side as your little finger and trace straight down the inside of the arm and off the little finger. This jet lag remedy will help not just with the sleep problems, but all the associated smaller ones such as digestive disorder and nausea.
1pm-3pm
Start at the back of the hand, going up from the small finger up the back of the arm. Go down at the back of the shoulder, then up to the cheekbone, and horizontally back to the ear.
3pm-5pm
Firstly, with one hand, start on the forehead, move it up over the top of your head to connect with the other hand. Move both down the back then in and around your buttocks. Secondly, trace an outer line: starting at the upper back, go straight down to the back of the knees, in at the knees, down and finish at the small toes.
5pm-7pm
Place your fingers under the ball of each foot, then circle around the inside of each ankle bone, going straight up the inside of the leg, groin, then the front of the body to K-27 acupuncture point. This is the small notch beneath the collar bone, on the inner side. K-27 is important, so take the opportunity to give it a good rub.
7pm-9pm
Place fingers of one hand at the outer side of the opposite breast, come up over the shoulder, then move up the inside of the arm, finishing at the middle finger.
9pm-11pm
On the back of your hand, starting at the ring finger, move straight up the outer arm to beneath your ear, curve round the back of the ear, ending at your temple.
11pm- 1am
Placing the fingers of each hand on the outer eyebrows, move down to the ear opening, then straight up about two inches. Circle forward with your fingers, then loop back behind the ears. Go up over the crown of the head, moving down to the shoulders. Moving your arms behind you, go to the shoulder, moving down the side of the body as in the diagram. End at your fourth toe.
1am- 3am
Run the hands up from the bog toes straight up the inside of the legs. Move out at the groin, up the ribcage, to finish in line with the nipples.
3am- 5am
Place one hand under the opposite outer collar bone and circle it up over your shoulder, straight down your arm, and end at your thumb.
5am- 7am
Place the fingers of one hand at the end of the index finger of the opposite hand, go straight up the arm across the top of the shoulder, up the neck to the centre of the nostrils, then out to the outer corner of the opposite nostril. Finish in the same way as the start, with the Microcosmic orbit- governing and central meridian.
