6 Simple Routines to Beat Jet Lag Forever
Aubrey de Grey, one of the globe's leading anti-aging experts, spoke at a seminar where he stated, "the first human being to live to be a thousand years old, has already been born." At the time, he was talking about the fact that medical science toward anti-aging has grown to such a degree, modern humans now have the potential to live longer lives– that is, if you live a healthy lifestyle and take good care of your physical body.
Today's Biohackers look at all the ways to improve health by hacking the environment around them including ways to get natural light, clean water, plenty of sleep, and optimal exercise. These are all keys to feeling young well into your 90's.
There are many ways to prolong your life and feel better no matter what age you are now. Today we'll biohack what most of us who travel often experience, jetlag.
Biohacking Jetlag
- Fight Oxidative Stress
Flying takes a substantial toll on our physical bodies. It disrupts our circadian rhythms (aka sleeping patterns) due to different time zones, exposes us to more cosmic radiation (EMF), and puts our immune systems into overtime to fight harmful bacteria and other pathogens in the plane.
All this leads to oxidative stress, which can negatively impact your health. Giving your body an antioxidant boost during a flight can help combat oxidative stress. Slip a small pack of grape seed extract with the ingredient resveratrol into your travel bag. It gives you the bump in antioxidants you need. And for oxidative stress, try Protandim by Lifevantage. Just one dosage of each per day is helpful in daily life, but when flying, try boosting the dosage to every 3 or 4 hours.
- Kick the Jet Lag
Jet Lag is what it sounds like: a lag in your performance due to flying. The key goal is to restore circadian rhythms, and one way to do that is to adjust to new timezones before and during a flight. Everything from eating, sleeping, and working should be in the new timezone of the destination. It may be hard to adjust your sleeping schedule, but the important thing here is to try. And things like melatonin supplement, meditation, and sleep apps help.
Then there is the mental trick of changing the timezone on your phone, making it easier to adjust your body into doing activities with the new timezone in mind.
Another tip is to reduce blue light. This light emanates from electronic devices and airplane screens, causing the body to read it as daylight. When that happens, the body releases more melatonin, making the goal of sleeping that much harder.
- Keep Moving
It's been said that sitting is like smoking, and to stay healthy, you need to lessen the amount of sitting that you do. Flights make the effects of sitting worse. The cabin pressure pulls the blood to your feet, which can lead to deep vein thrombosis. But mostly, you just feel awful. To beat that feeling, go for a walk down the aisle and back. Do your best to keep moving especially on long-haul flights.
- Know What Makes You Sick
Being confined in a plane with hundreds of travelers is a sure way to get sick, but it's not in the way you think. Most people think it is the air that is full of germs. Actually, that air is filtered by heavy-duty filters, making it cleaner than the air in most big cities.
The real culprit is surrounding surfaces, and the more often they are used by passengers, the more dangerous they become. Common issues are the tray table and that tiny "seat pocket in front of you," and the dreaded bathroom knob and faucets. If you touch them or place items on them, you carry those germs directly to you.
- Ground Yourself Upon Arrival
One theory states that when we are airborne, our natural electrical charge and cell performances are affected. To fix the issue, simply stand on some grass when you arrive. Go to a park or front lawn of a hotel - anywhere there is earth. Take your shoes off and root yourself for about 30 minutes. The idea is to reconnect yourself with the planet after having your body’s charges and functions disrupted by the flight.
The science is still thin on this one, but some people do mention positive results. And you gain other benefits such as cortisol reduction and mood improvement. It even brings your brainwaves down to a level that is similar to when you meditate.
- Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is essential, but even more so when flying. Our bodies prefer humidity levels at around 50% to 60%, but plane humidity dips to 10% to 20% - too low for our bodies to work as they should. With drier eyes, skin, and other internal areas of the body, the mucous membranes cannot effectively do what they are supposed to do, which is to block bacteria and snag airborne pathogens.
The basic rule to follow is to drink one liter of water before the flight and ½ liter every hour. This helps flush out any toxins and keeps the body hydrated inside and out.
It’s such a hassle to keep standing up to pee especially when you’re in the middle seat or when there’s turbulence. NutraV Z-Hydrate can help you stay hydrated with just a shot or two with better absorption through its nano properties. It can boost your energy levels too so you're ready to start the day once you land. As well as boost your immune levels to make sure you don’t catch anything nasty on your flight! Got a flight coming up? Click here to get your ZHydrate.
