Combat Jet Lag

Have you ever noticed that when you travel to a new time zone you feel tired, your mood is low, you have trouble sleeping when you want or have difficulty concentrating? You could be suffering from the effects of jet lag.

Jet lag, or dysrhythmia, occurs after east-west travel when your body clock isn't synchronized with your new time zone. It can disrupt more than 50 physiological and psychological rhythms. It gets worse with age – particularly after age 50. Unaided, it takes your body 1 day per time zone to readjust. It may take 2 to 3 weeks to completely realign your rhythms.

Until recently, jet lag was dismissed as merely an unpleasant side effect of air travel. New research suggests that it may also cause memory loss, shrinkage of parts of the brain and negative side effects on blood pressure. The good news is: now there is help.

'For business travelers, jet lag can throw the body into a tailspin.  Flying to Europe or Asia, across a half dozen time zones or more, can leave a person feeling like they are on another planet.' Kim MacDonald, The Weather Network.

Clinical research conducted at NASA and elsewhere demonstrates that in only 2 days your body clock can be reset to your new time zone with properly timed exposure to sufficiently bright light in specific wavelengths. With proper use of The Litebook®, your energy, mood, concentration, and sleep patterns can all be reset to your new time zone in as little as 60 minutes.

General Usage Instructions:

• Position The Litebook® approximately 12 to 24 inches (30-60 cm) from your face, and offset it to a 30 to 45 degree angle, like sunlight coming in a window.
• Direct The Litebook's® light beam at your eyes. Your eyes must be open to achieve the benefit.
• To provide benefit, The Litebook’s® light beam is very bright – like the sun. Do not stare at The Litebook®, although it is not harmful to glance at it occasionally.
• Typically, you will know when you have received sufficient light. Most feel a sense of heightened alertness, energy, and/or mood.

Additional Help and Resources:

• Seek bright light in the morning (destination time) when traveling east – and in the evening (destination time) when traveling west. Typical exposure times are 30 to 60 minutes on the day of travel and 15 to 30 minutes on the second day.
  
• Avoid bright light (sunlight) at specific times. This is just as important as seeking bright light. If you receive exposure to bright light at the wrong time, you will likely make your jet lag worse – your body clock could end up Tokyo time instead of Paris time! It is not important to avoid interior light, such as in a hotel room, office, or restaurant -- although many frequent travelers report best results when they avoid any source of light.