Not eating for 12-16 hours can help people quickly reset their sleep-wake cycle, according to a study from the Harvard Medical School. This discovery can drastically improve a person's ability to cope with jet lag or adjust to working late shifts.
Scientists have long known that our circadian rhythm is regulated by our exposure to light. Now they have found a second "food clock" that takes over when we are hungry. This mechanism probably evolved to make sure starving mammals don't go to sleep when they should be foraging for food.
The lead researcher Clifford Saper explains:
The neat thing about this second clock is that it can override the main clock ... and you should just flip into that new time zone in one day.
It usually takes people a week to fully adjust to a new time zone or sleeping schedule. To think that this new "food clock" hack can help you change your internal clock in one day is mind boggling. How Do You Use This Trick?
Simply stop eating during the 12-16 hour period before you want to be awake. Once you start eating again, your internal clock will be reset as though it is the start of a new day. Your body will consider the time you break your fast as your new "morning."
For example, if you want to start waking up at 2:00 am, you should start fasting between 10:00 am or 2:00 pm the previous day, and don't break your fast until you wake up at 2:00 am. Make sure you eat a nice healthy meal to jumpstart your system.
Another example: If you are travelling from Los Angeles to Tokyo, figure out when breakfast is served in Tokyo, and don't eat for the 12-16 hours before Tokyo's breakfast time.
What is funny is that if you have a really long flight, and you do not eat during it because of this, you may have a worse time at customs. On higher-risk drug routes people that don't eat are noted by airline staff as potential internal drug carriers.
Well if you're going to the states/canada from china or korea, the flight itself should be around that length. So just skip the airplane food, it's not like they are any good anyway.
On August 04 2009 12:33 Manifesto7 wrote: Please don't use tl:dr on TL.
What is funny is that if you have a really long flight, and you do not eat during it because of this, you may have a worse time at customs. On higher-risk drug routes people that don't eat are noted by airline staff as potential internal drug carriers.
On August 04 2009 12:33 Manifesto7 wrote: Please don't use tl:dr on TL.
What is funny is that if you have a really long flight, and you do not eat during it because of this, you may have a worse time at customs. On higher-risk drug routes people that don't eat are noted by airline staff as potential internal drug carriers.
what does tl;dr mean?
Too long; didn't read, using it may lead to a temp ban, use at your own risk
On August 04 2009 12:37 AssuredVacancy wrote: Well if you're going to the states/canada from china or korea, the flight itself should be around that length. So just skip the airplane food, it's not like they are any good anyway.
Depends when you land really. If your flight arrives at 8pm and you want to wake up at 8am, then eating on the plane is fine, eating after you land is not.
lol interesting find but i prefer just toughing it out like a man and forcing yourself to eat meals/sleep etc etc at normal times. exercise a lot during the day. Drink lots of caffeine if you have to make it through the day.
Normally I can overcome jetlag from US to china in 1-2 days so why bother to not eat
Pretty sure there is a sexual drive clock to the circadian rhythm also. like some people are morning fucks and others are night. Also I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets a bit of energy upon masturbation/sex and then others also get tired from it.
PS- if I am understanding this correctly they say not to eat until you want to be awake? For me whenever I eat I generally get really tired afterwords. But then again I've always noticed eating habits contributing to my late nights. Binge drinking and fast food runs, you're not supposed to eat after 9pm for a reason right?
Personally, i've found melatonin a quick sleep aid for dealing with jet lag. Knocks me out in about 15 minutes, feel completely rested when i wake up. Only side effect is I tend to wake up once after about four hours, and have to take another tablet.
If you're headed east (ie awake when you need to be sleeping), pop it when you're ready for bed.
If you're headed west and know you're going to tired when you want to be awake, try sleeping on the plane. Drink a fair amount of water before you go to bed since you tend to get dehydrated on planes.
On August 04 2009 12:33 Manifesto7 wrote: Please don't use tl:dr on TL.
What is funny is that if you have a really long flight, and you do not eat during it because of this, you may have a worse time at customs. On higher-risk drug routes people that don't eat are noted by airline staff as potential internal drug carriers.
what does tl;dr mean?
And this was very useful in the sense that a bunch of my friends are getting back from across the world.