Jet Lag…There’s an App for That

Jet lag,  that wonderful temporary sleep disorder we get when traveling.  It’s caused by the body being out of sync with it’s own clock do to various time zone changes. The more zones you change the worse the jet lag can be.  Some travelers are more susceptible than others, but often everyone feels it to some degree.

Specializing and selling the South Pacific, I’ve gotten quite good at battling this phenomenon for my own travels. I have event written this tip article, “2 Meals, 2 Movies, and a Nap!”,  specifically written for the flights from the West Coast, USA to Australia.  These are things that have worked for me over the years as I have made my way to the South Pacific. Of course, we in the travel industry are always on the watch for something that might work even better.

On my most recent Amazing Aussie Adventure, we were given the opportunity to test or try out for free an app called Uplift.  Uplift works on a scientific premise of being able to reset your body’s clock through the use of pressure points.   It made sense to me as I am know stranger to using pressure points to divert pain from headaches. So the concept that a pressure point could change how the body thinks was something I was willing to give a go.

It’s a very easy application to use and is easily downloaded to your smart phone. I have an iPhone. There is a pre-tutorial video to watch on how the application is used, what information from your trip you will need, and an example of a person locating and using their pressure points.   Basically you will be entering the information from the time zone you depart from and then the arrival zone.  Preferably it is best to do at the airport after landing, but can be done once you arrive at your hotel destination.

For my most recent trip, several of us in the group did use Uplift to see how it worked and if it made a difference. Given I was traveling from Newark, NJ to Perth, Western Australia I actually used the application twice during the flights over as recommended by the company.  I did my first pressure point session when I arrive in Auckland where I had a 5 hour layover.  What was interesting, was that we had different pressure points to use depending on which area we left from. So not all of us had the same points. Mine happened for this first use to be inside my leg above the ankle and my wrist area.  The second use, I did once I was settled into my room in Perth which was several hours after arriving in Western Australia. My pressure points were again different than the previous set.  I had now been traveling roughly 30 hours since leaving New Jersey.  I went to bed about 11pm local time and slept through the night waking just ahead of my alarm at 6am.  I felt great. Got up did some meditation, grabbed a shower and headed up for breakfast.  I was right on track the rest of the trip.

When the trip ended and I headed back to the states, I forgot or neglected to do the first round of points in Auckland, but I did do it back at my condo.  I arrive home on a red eye out of California at 6am my time.  I took about a 5 hour nap upon arriving home and then was up and ready for the day. I even attended a trade event that night.

I can’t say definitively that the application was the reason as I have a tendency to adjust well, but given the quite short length of my trip, only 7 days in Australia and 30hrs of travel time, I think it may very well have helped.  I believe the application runs about $9.99 and might be worth you giving it trial for your next international flight.  Can’t hurt, right?