What a week! I travelled back to London from the US, and the clocks had also changed from British Summer Time. Feeling groggy and getting on with life and work is really not fun. So, here are the easy hacks I used to deal with jet lag and to reset my circadian rhythm.
How Does Travelling Affect Your Circadian Rhythm?
A rule of thumb is that it takes about one day to adjust for each hour of time change but with me running Tonic and taking the red eye over from New York–I didn’t have that luxury, so I had to help my circadian rhythm change and fast!
The Top 3 ways your circadian rhythm responds to its environment is simpler than you think:
- Light
- Movement
- Food
Let there be light!
So, what did I do when I landed at Gatwick airport at 5am on Tuesday? I got outside as soon as the sun had risen, so I could get that natural light into my eyes and tell my body it was morning time (even though it was only midnight back in the US).
Move it, Shake it
Next, it was time to move and get the blood flowing. I didn’t have access to a gym and to be honest, didn’t even bring gym gear to London. But, I still made the time to run up the 4 flights of office stairs 5x to get my heart and lungs working.
Food Glorious Food
Finally, came the best part. Eat a big, delicious breakfast. I had a fry up in a local café. Not the healthiest breakfast, but a big filling one to tell my body to wake up and digest those bacon and eggs.
Final Thoughts
I have used this methodology several times already and have found it to work wonders, so hopefully it will help you as well.
Yours in health,
Sunna