Q: I'm finding I'm suffering from a major case of jet lag since returning from a vacation in Bali, where my schedule was exactly 12 hours different from at home. While I was there, I felt fine. But now, my biological clock says it's 8:15 PM rather than 8:15 AM. I missed my bike ride yesterday because I slept on and off throughout the day. Today's run was a disaster. I barely made it up the hills and I was close to exhaustion at the end. Currently, I'm only able to sleep about four hours at night. What do you advise? - G.O., Halifax, PA


A: Jet lag is far worse when traveling eastward rather than westward, so it's no wonder that coming home presented a greater adjustment problem than did going there.

Readjusting is largely a matter of slowly moving your body's time zone up. It typically takes one day for every time zone crossed. So this would indicate 12 days to fully adjust. Since you must still go to work at specified times in the Eastern time zone, you don't have the luxury of such a gradual change. But the right combination of exercise, light, diet and napping can be used to help you make the switch a little faster and get back to normal sleep patterns.

Exercise tends to wake up the body, so try to get in your workouts in the morning. Realize that you'll need to reduce the intensity and duration of your workouts as you adjust. Only do what your body feels like doing. Don't try to force it back onto a rigid schedule.

Also, open the curtains every morning to let the sun in, even though you may be groggy from little sleep. In the early evening, close them to limit sunlight and turn the lights down low. The human body is sensitive to light and uses it to regulate hormonal responses that control wake/sleep cycles.

Diet shifts also may help. Carbohydrates tend to produce sleep-inducing chemicals in the body and protein triggers hormones and enzymes that wake you up. So eating a protein-rich breakfast and a carbohydrate-rich dinner also will help to get your body back in sync. Eliminate caffeine and alcohol in the evenings, and use caffeine only in the morning, if at all. Stay wellhydrated at all times.

Finally, short naps during the day may help to keep you feeling fresh. Keep them to 15 to 20 minutes. Longer naps may further confuse the body's internal clock.

Avoid using drugs such as sleeping pills, which also can throw your body clock out of balance. And while some research supports taking melatonin shortly before your normal bed time to help you to get back into a normal sleep routine, there is still much to be learned about this. So, don't experiment without a doctor's advice.

Source: fitlinxx.com