Acupuncture for Jetlag

An ancient solution for a modern problem! Anyone who has been on holiday to a country with a different time zone to where they live will know the curse of jetlag, when your body clock seems out of sync with the time of day. The concept of using acupuncture to beat jetlag was established in the 1970’s with the ancient technique being used to overcome a modern problem. 

Our internal body clock works on a naturally balanced daily rhythm over 24 hours. The most obvious of these is our sleep/wake cycle which is connected to the sun’s light/dark cycle. When we travel across time zones we force our body to adapt to sudden changes in routine and our sleep/wake cycle becomes disconnected from the light/dark cycle, throwing off our internal body clock. This disruption to our daily rhythm can cause many symptoms including fatigue and insomnia. Have you ever returned from a relaxing foreign holiday to find that you’re awake half the night and exhausted during the day? Scientists estimate that it takes one day to recover naturally for each hour time zone crossed but it is easier to adjust when you fly west and gain time than when you fly east and lose time. 

The ancient concept of acupuncture is based on identifying disruption to energy flow in your body and rebalancing it, which is why it works for jetlag. Night shift workers can have similar problems with their body clock being out of balance with when they need to sleep or wake so it works for them too. 

Qi (pronounced chee) is your life force energy flowing through channels or meridians in your body completing one full circuit in 24 hours. There are 12 meridians relating to the five elements and different parts of your body.  During the 2 hours it takes for the qi to pass through each meridian, that meridian is at its strongest. This is your body’s energy clock. When you travel, your energy clock needs to be rebalanced to your current time zone so that your internal body clock with its sleep/wake cycle is once more in tune with the light/dark cycle. 

Acupuncture helps to rebalance your energy after traveling across time zones. It can also help your body adjust to irregular work patterns that don’t conform to the normal sleep/wake cycle. So next time you’re feeling out of sync with the time of day, why not try acupuncture?

Five Element Acupuncture brings the body, mind and spirit into balance to improve your health and wellbeing. Book a treatment with Kathy Hitchens at Balancing Acupuncture in Truro.