Hate jet lag? So do we. But some researchers in Argentina have found that our recovery from jet lag might be considerably faster using the somewhat unlikely-sounding solution of taking Viagra.
So far they've only tested in on hamsters, using lights rather than flights, but results show that taking low doses of Viagra (not enough to produce any hamster erections, apparently) helped the hamsters adjust to a new time zone about 50% faster. The trick is that it only worked when they simulated eastbound flights, so it looks like we'll need one-way flight traffic plus Viagra to feel good after a long flight.
Once you're on the plane, it's a bit late to get a massive warning about the possibility of getting jet lag. But yeah, there are probably a few pointers left to give to the not-so-experienced traveler, and British Airways has now set this up in a series of podcasts that are best listened to before you leave for the airport, rather than on your iPod once you've boarded the plane. The advice comes from the sleep expert of British Airways, a fellow named Dr. Chris Idzikowski, a.k.a. Dr. Sleep.
Topics include sleep basics (close your eyes, count sheep), synchronizing your inner clock (as complicated as it sounds) and overcoming jet lag. Unfortunately even Dr. Sleep suggests that getting over jet lag is still only something that can happen gradually. And the podcasts aren't even boring enough that they'll really help you sleep.
Vancouver blogger Darren Barefoot, who writes the excellent Geeky Traveller, pointed out we don't have much going on under our Jet Lag tag.
Didn't we dispel the myth that carrot juice cures jet lag? Anyway, though we are firm believers that the only sure fire cure for Jet Lag is to ignore it, we are willing to listen when someone claims to have found the body clock algorithm, which in essence, could reduce or cure jet lag.
Litebook is a portable 'light box' that travellers can use to reduce the
effects of jet lag. It uses bright white LEDs of a specific wavelength identical to those of the peak wavelength of sunlight.
I tried it recently when flying from Vancouver to Ottawa. It was only three time zones, but it seemed to help me out with fatigue and sleeping the right hours. It certainly worked better than those silly pills I've tried in the past.
There's also a jet lag calculator on Litebook's site that
enables users to figure out when they should the device, and when they should avoid light to overcome jet lag as quickly as possible.
Light is evil. Pill popping doesn't work. That sounds about right. A "Jet Lag Calculator" on the site helps weary travelers figure out how much light they need to avoid to calibrate their body clocks.
We aren't sure if Hoth Han Solo is to show product scale, or to remind us all that crawling into the belly of a freshly killed tauntaun does not cure the winter blues, nor jet lag--either way we are down with Hoth Han.
There's an art and science to everything, even airplane sleeping, as brothers John and Evan Stallcup prove in their new handbook on the subject.
We were skeptical at first, it seems like we've heard every tip in the book already. But the Stallcups have written this for the regular coach traveler and included some unknowns. Those mints you suck on to reduce the ear popping? Forget them. Peppermint relaxes the muscle that prevents acid reflux too much. Bring the noise cancelling headphones and try the brothers' 'steel band method'- a visualization technique.
Hey, for under $10, we'll try anything to get some sleep on plane. We're curious about your tips...send 'em our way and we'll share them.
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by amandak
There's an art and science to everything, even airplane sleeping, as brothers John and Evan Stallcup prove in their new handbook on the subject.
