Light Therapy

Minimize Jet Lag

We feel jet lag when we cross time zones. Our bodies expect it to be one time, but we find ourselves in a different part of the world-at a very different time of day!

Travel fatigue, disturbed sleep patterns, tiredness, appetite problems, decreased performance, and the jitters are all symptoms. To minimize these troublesome effects of jet lag, you want to treat the cause.

Jet lag occurs when our body clockBody clock is a roughly 24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria (see bacterial circadian rhythms). is out of synch with the environment we are in.

In a recent study from Liverpool John Moores University, J. Waterhouse, et al, cited light therapyLight therapy or phototherapy consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light -- by a so-called light box. Light therapy which strikes the retina of the eyes is used to treat circadian rhythm disorders such as delayed sleep phase syndrome and can also be used to treat seasonal affective disorder, with some support for its use also with non-seasonal psychiatric disorders. as the primary prevention method for jet lag. Bright light will reset your body clock, and get you in sync with the local time zone.

Benefits of Light Therapy for Jet Lag

The benefit of light therapy for frequent travelers is significant. It's safe, non-pharmacological, portable, and easy to use. This natural therapy can keep business travelers, athletes, and others at peak performance regardless of time zone differences.

Bright light, administered in the evening, will induce a phase delay in your body clock. Bright light in the morning will induce a phase advance.

General Advice for Light Therapy Treatment of Jet Lag

Going East?

Traveling east causes our body clock to slow. Bright light in the morning can speed up our body clock.

  • If you are traveling east, sit for 30 minutes of light therapy first thing in the morning, for two consecutive days.
  • Do your session 15 minutes after natural or simulated sunrise.

Going West?

  • If you are traveling west, try 30 minutes of light therapy in the evening, for two consecutive days.
  • Do your sessions between 8 and 9 pm.