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Taking some steps to cope with jet lag

Ask The Expert Andrea Meredith University Of Maryland School Of Medicine

April 13, 2009|By Liz Atwood , liz.atwood@baltsun.com

There is some controversy about that because every person is different. Some people try to preshift to the other time zone. If you are going to be gone for a long time, it makes sense to preshift. If you are on a short trip, it makes sense to stay in the current time zone. Other people try other things: bright lights, pharmaceuticals such as melatonin or Provigil, caffeine or naps. Directly or indirectly, these things are ultimately going to affect the brain's clock.

What do you advocate?

I try to stay in my own time zone when traveling within the U.S. My advice is work with your natural rhythm. There's a second thing I do. If you're going to travel to Europe, get up, start your sightseeing and engage in vigorous activity. Also, eat multiple small meals throughout the day. I feel less nauseous and more alert.

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Do certain kinds of food help?

There is anecdotal evidence that carbohydrate-rich foods will help, but it may be that they just make your brain feel good. One of the things we need to realize about circadian rhythms [is that] there is a genetic component to them, and there is a tremendous variability of what will work for each individual person.

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