Conquer Jet Lag with Light and Melatonin

(This video was recorded on June 19th, 2023)

He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and an Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.

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Video Produced by Kyle Allred

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#jetlag #light #melatonin

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[CaptainSteve]

Well done, as usual. I'm a now retired international airline captain. LA to London (LHR) was one of my main routes. I can confirm every point you made. Unfortunately, as a pilot, I could never benefit from the knowledge, because I was only there a day, and then had to fly back. It was brutal on the body.

[orangecat]

Hi Doc, I have researched and through trial have found that food is a very powerful cue as well. When I extend my usual nightly fast by not eating during most of the flight (maybe just some snacks after takeoff) and then only break my fast (get it, breakfast?) in the morning of the new time zone, it's been a huge game changer.

Moral of the story, what I do is to eat very light on the plane, and then ensure that I have no food for at least 15 hours (will be different for different folks) with breakfast being my 1st calories of the vacation. I have to say that this has been foolproof and is very easy since I don't really have to do much to keep track of anything else, such as worrying about the light exposure when I arrive. And the nice part is that each person can tweak this method to see how much you can get away with. When I first tried this, I ate nothing on the plane. Now I know I can eat (more importantly drink, lol) and still have the desired results. Love the channel, btw!

[obadahal-harastani]

Suggestion:
Put up a short version with just (what to do when) for lay people like myself
Thanks Doctor!

[chesshead]

Great video, thank you! I just traveled to Europe and back. I used your suggestions and it was my BEST TRIP EVER for managing jetlag.

[virginicaanderson]

I took the smallest amount of melatonin 0.5mg and was nauseous for 24 hours later.
Decided I would rather put up with the jetlag.
Thank you for the glasses tip.
Will try it soon

[nancyvonschimmelmann]

This was so timely. It usually takes days for me to recover from jet lag. This is very helpful. Thanks!

[sapelesteve]

Very interesting video Doc! Having experienced jet lag quite a few times in the past, mostly armed forces related, it's definitely not fun. Wish that this information was available to me way back when! Hope that all is well on your end! 👍👍

[Flameboar]

Thank you for a very informative video. I have experienced jet lag flying east. This was normally between East Asia and the US. Flying west I would always depart from LAX or one of the other airports with non-stop flights to east Asia within 90 minutes of Midnight. I would land in Korea or Taiwan at roughly 6:00 AM. I had almost no jet lag. It was coming back to the US from East Asia that resulted in days of jet lag. I wish that I had seen your video while I was travelling frequently to and from East Asia.

[IndigobluBeauty]

Could have used this on my Tokyo trip earlier this month

[SkepticalCaveman]

Melatonin is actually perscription medication in my country.

[lightyourway]

Thank you for sharing and very helpful.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on a similar strategy for switching to night shift, from a day shift

[kennanpeacock]

As a flight attendant, I lovve this! Thought the sunglasses idea was great

[hughdavis]

As a retired military aviator, I was always aware I bucked the norm. I always found it easier going East about, ie into shortening days - an early bedtime (circadian clockwise) was easy. West about was always a nightmare, because having stretched my day, my sleep pattern just reset, and I'd not be able to sleep at local night time. I was always one of the last survivors at parties, and a member of the small cohort who made it through to breakfast the next day - and I normally wouldn't get sleepy until the following night. I often wonder too, how your time of departure affects jetlag, tho of course a principle difference here will be whether your working, or a passenger - who can take a long kip if they feel like it.

[julianagarcia]

Former flight attendant ✈️ and now med student! 😅

Indeed flying internationally can be so harsh. I am so happy to have had the knowledge back then and now of course to understand the circadian rhythm. 🎉

Physiology in the air at its best.

[michielsmit]

Thank you for good advice which we will soon use when fast forwarding our watches 9hr returning home from grandparent duty here in Silicon Valley. But please help me understand a circadian rhythm that wakes me up at 2:30-3:00 am whether here or back home. If sleep is non-negotiable then this phenomenon is surely unnatural.

[markgraham]

Very interesting. I usually get worse jet lag traveling from East to West.

[fordresurrectionest]

Doc, can you make a video on Maleria? Prevention, symptoms, body's reactions, and transmitters of Maleria.

[betsyshih]

Dr. Campbell dosen‘t update yesterday, but also you...when‘ll the talkshow update Dr.Seheult? that make we a day!! :)