Hey {{first name | reader}},
It's Tuesday, which means your weekly fitness check-in. Welcome to Week 15.
Anytime I think I've figured out how to beat jet lag, I'm soon proven absolutely wrong. I had the best of intentions for the trip back to the States—relax in the Delta Lounge1, sleep on the 11-hour leg, a long layover in Minneapolis spent in that Delta Lounge, then a quick nap on the short flight to NYC where I was delivering my nephew to his parents.
Unfortunately, sleep never happened, and it wrecked me.
West to east jet lag is killing me.
Kabuki Theatre, Tokyo
The Insomnia Spiral
Since Sunday, I've fallen into the painful pattern of being unable to sleep all night and being a non-functional zombie all day. Step count has dropped precipitously. Gym time has been low.
I have the textbook symptoms of jet lag: insomnia, headache, constant fatigue, upset stomach, no appetite.
In the best scenario, I'm a rotten sleeper. Without a sleep aid, I typically sleep no more than three to four hours before waking. Usually I can get back to sleep for another three hours. Sometimes I can't.
That's been the case since I returned from Japan.
Night one: Fell asleep at 10 PM, woke up at 1 AM, stayed awake until 7 AM. Total sleep: 3 hours.
Night two: Fell asleep at 10 PM, woke up at 1 AM, managed to fall back asleep at 5:30 AM. Total sleep: maybe 4 hours.
Night three: Fell asleep at 10 PM, woke up at 1 AM, caved and took a sleeping pill at 3 AM. Finally got another few hours.
Night four: Writing this at 3 AM because sleep is not happening.
Everything feels off when you don't sleep. Food tastes wrong. The gym feels impossible. Simple decisions—what to wear, what to eat—take ten times longer than they should.
The Training Dilemma
Everyone will tell you that physical exercise helps you sleep. But what if you're not sleeping—should you work out?
I don't have an easy answer.
I like to push through and work out anyway. Movement helps me feel human even when I'm running on fumes. But there's also substantial research showing that fatigue makes us more prone to mistakes and injury. Lifting heavy weights on 3 hours of sleep is how you drop a barbell on your foot or tweak your back on a squat.
So I've been compromising. Light workouts. Bodyweight circuits. Long walks instead of hard cardio. Nothing that requires perfect form or maximal effort.
It's not my normal training. But it's movement. And right now, movement is the goal.
Why West to East Is Harder
Here's the science: our bodies adjust to jet lag better when we fly from east to west than when we fly from west to east.
Most people have a circadian rhythm slightly longer than 24 hours—meaning we naturally want to stay up later and sleep in a bit. This makes it easier to lengthen our day (flying west) than to shorten it (flying east).
Flying east forces you to go to bed earlier than your body wants and wake up earlier than feels natural. Your internal clock is still running on home time, but the sun and the world around you are hours ahead.
The rule of thumb: it takes about one day per time zone to fully adjust. Tokyo to New York is 14 time zones. That's two weeks of adjustment. I'll be back to normal right around the time I leave for my next trip.2
Age Matters
My twelve-year-old nephew? Already fine. Bounced back in two days.
Me? Still struggling a week later.
Younger bodies adapt faster. Their circadian rhythms are more flexible. They can handle the disruption and reset quickly.
Meanwhile, I'm mainlining coffee and trying to remember what day it is.
📖 ASK ME ANYTHING
"Should you work out when you're jet-lagged and exhausted?"
Depends on what you mean by "work out."
If you're asking whether you should attempt a heavy deadlift PR on 3 hours of sleep: absolutely not. That's how you get hurt.
If you're asking whether movement helps: yes. Light activity—walking, bodyweight circuits, easy cardio—can actually help reset your circadian rhythm faster than sitting on the couch waiting to feel better.
What I'm actually doing this week:
Morning walks in the sun (helps reset circadian clock)
Bodyweight circuits in the living room (push-ups, squats, planks—nothing that requires a spotter)
Light stretching and mobility work
Skipping anything heavy or technical
The goal isn't to maintain my normal training schedule. The goal is to move enough that my body remembers it's supposed to be awake during daylight and asleep at night.
When to skip entirely: If you're so exhausted you can't think straight, skip it. Sleep (or attempt to sleep) is more important than a workout. Your body needs recovery more than it needs another training stimulus.
Listen to your body. If it's screaming for rest, rest.
💡 MYTH BUSTING
Myth: You can prevent jet lag by staying hydrated and avoiding alcohol on the flight.
Reality: Hydration and avoiding alcohol help, but they don't prevent jet lag. The only thing that prevents jet lag is not crossing time zones.
Jet lag is caused by your circadian rhythm being out of sync with the local time. No amount of water or abstaining from wine will fix that.
What actually helps:
Light exposure: Get morning sun in your new time zone. Your body uses light to reset its clock.
Meal timing: Eat on local time, even if you're not hungry.
Movement: Gentle exercise helps, intense exercise doesn't.
Melatonin: Can help if timed correctly (talk to a doctor about dosing).
Time: Your body adjusts at roughly 1 time zone per day. There's no shortcut.
What doesn't help as much as you'd think:
Drinking a gallon of water on the plane (you'll just pee a lot)
Forcing yourself to stay awake until local bedtime (you'll be miserable and still wake up at 2 AM)
"Sleeping off" the jet lag (your body needs light cues, not darkness)
Jet lag is temporary, but it's real. Respect it. Work with it. Don't fight it.
🍽️ QUICK FUEL: Sleep Tea
Since I'm basically living on chamomile tea and hope right now, here's what's in my mug at night:
Ingredients:
Chamomile tea (traditional Medicinals brand)
Splash of oat milk
Tiny bit of honey
Pinch of cinnamon
Steep for 5-7 minutes. Drink 30-60 minutes before attempting sleep.
Does it cure jet lag? No. Does it taste good and give me something to do with my hands during the 3 AM insomnia spiral? Yes.
I've also been taking magnesium glycinate before bed (400mg). Some research suggests it helps with sleep quality. Mostly it makes me feel like I'm doing something productive instead of just lying in bed staring at the ceiling.
📚 WORTH YOUR TIME
Article: "Interventions to Minimize Jet Lag After Westward and Eastward Flight" - Frontiers in Physiology
A comprehensive look at the science of jet lag and evidence-based strategies to minimize it. Covers the role of light exposure, melatonin, exercise, and meal timing in resetting your circadian clock.
Dense but useful if you travel internationally with any frequency.
Key takeaway: Eastward travel requires you to advance your circadian clock (go to bed earlier), which is harder than delaying it (staying up later). This is why flying east kicks your ass more than flying west.
💪 TRY THIS WEEK
The Jet Lag Recovery Protocol (or just general "I'm exhausted" protocol)
If you're jet-lagged or just running on empty this week, try this approach:
Morning:
Get outside within 30 minutes of waking up. 15-20 minutes of sunlight, even if it's cloudy.
Light movement: 10-15 minute walk, gentle stretching, bodyweight circuit.
Afternoon:
If you must nap, keep it under 30 minutes and before 3 PM.
Avoid heavy meals that make you sleepy.
Evening:
No screens 1 hour before bed (yeah, I know, I'm typing this at 3 AM—do as I say, not as I do).
Keep the bedroom dark and cool.
Accept that sleep might not happen. Stress about not sleeping makes it worse.
Training modification:
Cut intensity by 50%.
Cut volume by 30%.
Focus on movement quality, not weight or speed.
Skip anything that requires maximal effort or perfect form.
This isn't forever. It's just until your body catches up to where you are.
Stay strong (or at least stay awake), {{first name | reader}}
P.S. My nephew is already back to his normal routine. I hate him a little bit for it. Youth is wasted on the young.
1 The Delta Sky Club at Haneda is genuinely nice. Big windows, comfortable chairs, surprisingly tast food. I had high hopes. Unfortunately, "decent lounge" does not overcome "circadian rhythm completely out of sync."
2 I'm writing this at 3 AM on night four. I've tried: chamomile tea, magnesium, no screens, reading boring books, progressive muscle relaxation, and accepting my fate. Nothing is working. At this point I'm just waiting for my body to give up and sleep out of sheer exhaustion.