Take the bite out of jet lag with a bowl of cherries
I’m not saying I believe this tip, because I haven’t tested it, but I’d like to think it’s true. It’s certainly a timely suggestion, since Cherry Valley’s namesake crop is now brightening produce aisles throughout the Southland. The tip: Eat cherries to avoid jet lag.
The suggestion follows on the heels of recent advice that a half-cup of tart cherries may help promote more restful sleep. The buzz: Cherries are a super-fruit, rich in antioxidants — including melatonin — which scientists say may improve the body’s natural sleep patterns.
I haven’t tested the cherries-before-bedtime tip either, but hey, it sounds better than counting sheep.
But back to the jet lag thing. Russel J. Reiter, a nutrition researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center, is a melatonin expert. His advice to international travelers:
If flying east, consume a handful of cherries (a half-cup of the dried version works fine) 30 minutes to an hour before your desired sleep time.
If flying west, down your cherries the night before departure.
When you arrive, eat cherries 30 minutes to an hour before your desired sleep time each night for the same number of nights as the time change you just underwent. In other words, if you flew from Los Angeles to New York, continue the cherries regimen for three nights because you just blasted through three time zones.
This advice comes to us, of course, from the people who produce cherries. To learn more about the fruit and melatonin, go to www.choosecherries.com.
By the way, if anyone out there tests this, or has tested it, please let us know.
—Rosemary McClure, Los Angeles Times Assistant Travel Editor
[Photo: www.choosecherries.com]
3 Comments on “Take the bite out of jet lag with a bowl of cherries”
Leave a Comment
If you are under 13 years of age you may read this blog, but you may not participate. Here's the full legal spiel.
Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this blog until the author has approved them.
All fields are required
Advertisement
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG
Click the logo below to subscribe to news from this blog:
Or add this feed to your favorite RSS reader:
more
Or add this feed to your favorite RSS reader:
more
Advertisement
June 8th, 2008 at 3:18 am
The suggestion follows on the heels of recent advice that a half-cup of tart cherries may help promote more restful sleep. The buzz: Cherries are a super-fruit, rich in antioxidants — including melatonin — which scientists say may improve the body’s natural sleep patterns.
June 8th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Sounds like it’s worth trying. I like cherries anyway. And eating cherries don’t make you look weird, unlike these LED battery-operated jet lag glasses:
http://www.vagabondish.com/led-glasses-promise-to-banish-jet-lag/
July 13th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I have noticed that tart cherries have a soporific effect on me in the past. I read this article and when I visited europe on my last trip I tried eating some cherries on the flight over and about a half hour before I went to bed for the first 3 nights. Subjectively, I felt it helped me adjust to the time zone. I fell asleep right away (usually it takes some time for me to fall asleep when I fly east) although I woke up several times during the night it was okay.