Kevin Jang

Nick Marano
Zach Wallace
Mr. Dlugolecki
Physical Education & Health
23 October, 2014
Jet Lag and Yoga: The Know-Hows and Benefits of Yoga to Combat Jet Lag
Jet Lag is a temporary sleep disorder that causes a disruption in your body that leads to large
amounts of discomfort in many areas of the body and throws off your bodys own internal clock. Now
what exactly is Jet Lag? Like the name suggest, Jet lag mostly occurs when an individual flies over
multiple time zones, in which the body is not accustomed, and messes up the bodys own clock, called
Circadian Rhythm, which is just a fancy term for an internal clock. When the body is in its local time
zone, the body operates normally just like any other bodies. But when the body is exposed to different
time zones, the body gets thrown into a loop and is essentially confused, just like I was in the middle of
Inception. The body doesnt know what is right or wrong, what time to be tired, or what time to eat, then
you look out a window and the morning sun smacks you in the face and all you can think of is if you can
survive for the rest of the trip. Do not fret my good sir/madam, for I come to you with a solution to your
problem, yoga.
Before I explain the beneficial qualities to help improve the body after being affected by Jet Lag,
there are consequences with not dealing with Jet Lag. In the short term effects of Jet Lag, it has been
proven to reduce sleep, interrupt sleep, can cause daytime fatigue, cause gastrointestinal problems, and
affect cognitive problems. When caught early, Jet Lag can be fixed in a quick and orderly manner, but it

in the long run, Jet Lag has been proven by actual scientific research to cause long-term effects. When
exposed to Jet Lag too often, cognitive functions in the brain has been proven to decrease as months pass
after the temporary symptoms of Jet Lag has passed, and the sufferer has shown signs of decreased long
term memory and short term recollection as well.
Now yoga can help with the effects of Jet Lag pretty quickly and when done correctly and
diligently, yoga can even relieve symptoms in a matter of a few select and specific poses. The one thing to
keep in mind is that yoga also involves the use of the mind, so without a clear and open mind, the poses
may as just well be stretches. The mind plays an important role in yoga; just as the body is used to make
the poses and positions, it is the minds job to attain a level of serenity and to let go of all the thoughts
that have been holding the body itself back. This is the most important part when trying to treat Jet Lag
with yoga. What these poses should do is to reset your bodys internal body clock so that your body can
feel refreshed and just as you did before you even left. Poses like down-ward dog relive stress and
stretches the back and hamstrings, which can really help with long plane rides, while poses like the corpse
pose can let you meditate and relive your mind of things unimportant and finish the reset of your body
clock.
I know I made yoga sound like the greatest thing to come to man since the invention of indoor
plumbing, but with some planning ahead and managing your activates can help alleviate stress and Jet
Lag. Drinking water and keeping hydrated is a must since dehydration makes the symptoms of Jet Lag
worse and avoiding the use of sleep pills will be even better since the can disrupt your sleep schedule. All
in all, it is going to take some work to help alleviate those Jet Lag symptoms, whether it is physically by
yoga or creating a plan, it is truly up to you if you want to take the extra step into making sure that Jet Lag
can easily pass you.

Works Citied
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2014.
Feature, Camille PeriWebMD. "Coping With Jet Lag and Sleepiness." WebMD.
WebMD, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Jet Lag Disorder." Definition. Mayo Clinic, 5 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.\
National Sleep Foundation. "Jet Lag and Sleep." Jet Lag & Sleep. National Sleep Foundation,
2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
Sheehan, Krista. "Yoga Poses for Jet Lag." Healthy Living. N.p., 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 20
Strutner, Suzy. "15 Not-So-Obvious Ways To Cure Jet Lag Once And For All." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 July 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 201
"Your Worst Jetlag & 3 Poses That Might Cure It. ~Katinka Stersdal Reme." Elephant Journal. Ed.
Kate Bartalotta. N.p., 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.