Traveling is my passion. Flying can have some negative effects on the body for those who fly often. “When I lived in Japan my family and I would fly across the Pacific Ocean often to visit family in the United States.” Says, Dr. Antonika. “The most common symptom we all face is that sluggish feeling and desire to sleep in the middle of the day and being wide awake all night.” That feeling is hard to excape when flying over multiple time zones. Welcome to the world of travel. This is Jet Lag.
Jet lag also known as Circadian desynchrony or circadian rhythm sleep disorder- is extreme tiredness and other physical effects felt by a person after a long flight across several time zones. It’s an abrupt change in local time basically our circadian clock just got a rude awakening.’
Traveling can be tough on the body, especially when it comes to jet lag. Jet lag happens when you alter your natural circadian rhythm because of travel to a new time zone. Your circadian rhythm is your internal clock that your body uses to manage sleep and wake times. Traveling disrupts the measures your body uses to manage its internal clock, such as daylight, your temperature, and your hormones. As a result, you may find yourself feeling exhausted during the day and wide awake in the middle of the night. There are some measures you can take to help ease jet lag, such as chic wellness treatments and holistic therapies. For example, TCM and holistic doctors may recommend acupuncture or herbal supplements to help balance your energy levels and promote better sleep.
When you’re dealing with jet lag, it can feel like your body is out of sync with the world around you. Your internal clock is thrown off, and you may find yourself struggling to sleep at night or feeling exhausted during the day. But there are steps you can take to help your body adjust to a new time zone. Chic Wellness holistic therapies offer the most effective holistic therapies in flight and on land. If you are a frequent flyer one quick tip is to expose yourself to natural light.
Natural light resets your internal clock and makes it easier for your body to adjust to the new time zone. Chic Wellness TCM doctor Antonika Chanel also recommends avoiding caffeine and alcohol, they can make jet lag worse. Focus on drinking plenty of water and eating light meals.
In Oriental Medicine the mind and body are on in the same they are inseparable. In Western Medicine mind and body are treated separately. Oriental Medicine places great importance on the relationship between the human body, nature, and its environment. All the parts and systems of the body are closely related in nature. Understanding these principles is the core of Oriental Medicine. Our emotions, environment, feelings, what we eat, think and behaviors affect our anatomy. This unified relationship, among the environment and the internal parts and systems of the human body, illustrates the concept of wholeness unique to Oriental MedicineI am going to tell you about how to promote mental clarity, improve sleep and get the most out of your travels with Chinese Medicine.
The key to reducing the symptoms of jet lag is to restore energy flow and to quickly return balance to the body’s circadian rhythm. While at sea where I practice Acupuncture, people from around the world arrive at their cruise jet lag and with very little time to recover. I’ve helped many patients prevent and recover from jet lag through acupuncture, herbal therapy, exercise, meditation techniques, and light exposure.
Re-Setting Your Internal Clock
In order to eliminate jet lag, the body clock must be reset, allowing the horary cycle to function at the same time as the local time of their destination. Stimulating specific horary points on the body allows the energy to transfer from one meridian to another, thus helping the biological clock update itself in mid-flight. People who use this system report arriving at their flight destination feeling like they are connected to the time zone of their newly arrived destination, as opposed to the time of their departure location. This technique of using horary points to reset one’s internal time clock was developed by a group of D.O. and D.C. Acupuncturists, and first introduced by John Amaro, DC, LAc.
MERIDIAN TIMES AND HORARY POINTS
- Lung 3 am – 5 am
- Lu 8 Large Intestine 5 am – 7 am
- LI 1 Stomach 7 am – 9 am
- St 36 Spleen 9 am – 11am
- Sp 3 Heart 11am- 1pm
- Ht 8 Small Intestine 1 pm – 3 pm
- SI 5 Bladder 3 pm – 5 pm
- UB 66 Kidney 5 pm – 7 pm
- Kd 10 Pericardium 7 pm – 9 pm
- P 8 (CX8) Sanjiao 9 pm – 11 pm
- SJ 6 Gallbladder 11 pm – 1 am
- GB 41 Liver 1 am – 3 am
How to get over jet lag
1.) At the time of departure, set your watch to your destination time
2.) Find the current time of your destination on the above chart.
3) Find the acupuncture point that corresponds to that 2-hour time frame.
4) Stimulate this (bilateral) point with a needle for 5 minutes, or by rubbing with the tip of a closed pen, 25-30 times in short blasts of 5 strokes.
5) Continue stimulating the points indicated for each of the ensuing 2-hour periods until you arrive at your destination.
6) Treat the corresponding horary point upon arrival.
In other words, if you are boarding the 7:00 pm flight from Los Angeles in route to Beijing, China, it is actually 11:00 am in Beijing the next day. Even though your horary cycle at your present location corresponds to the Pericardium meridian, beginning at 7:00 pm it is actually 11:00 am in Beijing (your destination) which corresponds to the Heart meridian. Thus, one stimulates the horary point for the Heart meridian, HT 8.
This same formula is repeated every two hours of flight as the flyer moves through time zones. Therefore, two hours later (9:00 pm on your wristwatch) it is actually 1:00 pm in Beijing, which corresponds to the Small Intestine meridian. You would stimulate SI 5, the horary point for the SI meridian.
Two hours later it would be 4:00 pm in Beijing, corresponding to the Bladder meridian and stimulation of BL66. The rest of the formula simply follows the circulation of Qi around the cycle, stimulating the horary point for the meridian associated with the time of day at your destination. Therefore, to continue the example it would be followed by KI, P, TH, GB, Liv, LU, LI, ST, SP, HT.
Chic Wellness vitalistic approach to wellness is a state of total harmony between mind and body. Our innate healing ability comes from inside oneself. A holistic approach to wellness implies living in balance with one’s environment. chic wellness is about taking care of oneself through healthy behaviors, eating right, and getting regular exercise. chic wellness is promoted by certain therapies such as acupuncture, which adjust the flow of vital energy, or chi, in the body. chic wellness can be attained by anyone who makes the commitment to live a balanced lifestyle. chic wellness is the ultimate goal of Oriental Medicine.
In today’s fast-paced world, it can be difficult to get the medical care you need in a timely manner. That’s where concierge medicine comes in. Concierge medicine is a membership-based practice that offers patients easier and faster access to physicians through a variety of virtual and in-house options, as well as longer appointment times than primary care physicians can offer. Chic Wellness TCM holistic doctor provide convenient access to care. Concierge medicine offers a wider range of services than traditional primary care, including, treatments like acupuncture, tailor-made nutritional therapy and complementary holistic practices for mind body and spirit. Concierge medicine is becoming an increasingly popular option for patients who want the best possible care. Our lifestyle concierge service provides a variety of care no matter where you are in the world.
