This story appears in the
June 2003 issue of
Entrepreneur.
Subscribe »
The disruption of your body's sleep cycle after a long
transcontinental flight-better known as jet lag-is the bane of
every business traveler. Is there a way around it? Several new
regimens and remedies claim to eliminate the stress and
sleeplessness, but while they're promising, they can only treat
jet lag-not cure it.
Business travel hotels are getting into the game.
InterContinental Hotels (www.intercontinental.com) offer free jet lag
recovery kits consisting of aromatherapy products such as gels and
sprays, plus tips on how to adjust to a new time zone.
Pills are another treatment for jet lag. ENADAlert is a dietary
supplement that contains a stabilized form of the coenzyme NADH, a
naturally occurring substance. Taken an hour before your arrival
time, it's said to relieve the effects of time zone changes.
(Get more details at www.enadalert.com.)
Another popular remedy is melatonin, a hormone that is believed
to help regulate sleep cycles. But according to the UC Berkeley
Wellness Letter, "The jury is still out on
melatonin." There are no official standards of purity for
melatonin supplements, and in a recent review by consumer product
testing facility ConsumerLab.com, some pills fell short of their
claims.
New regimens may also offer help for travelers who suffer from
jet lag. Eddie Erlandson, a cardiovascular surgeon who co-founded
and developed an integrated health program called Life Lessons,
focuses his research on the biology of health and illness.
"Jet lag is a fascinating example of the complexity of these
systems," he says. Erlandson offers wellness
"coaching" that helps patients modulate jet lag and
maintain mental clarity when crossing time zones. For more on Life
Lessons, visit his Web site www.worthethic.com.
Christopher Elliott is a writer and commentator and the
editor of www.elliott.org.