As somebody who hops between time zones wherever from one to 3 instances a month, understanding how jet lag impacts my sleep—and the way I can greatest care for my physique when touring—was one among my high priorities when checking into Sensei Lanai, A 4 Seasons Resort for the Relaxation and Reset Program.

Whereas it grew to become instantly clear in my one-on-one classes with the Sensei guides that my journey author way of life isn’t conducive to sleep consistency—one of many most necessary elements in getting a great night time’s relaxation—I got here away from the expertise with a couple of concrete methods for guaranteeing my sleep patterns are optimized, regardless of the place I’m on the earth. One of many easiest? Watching the dawn and sundown.

“There isn’t a treatment for jet lag; one of the best we are able to do at current is modify what we are able to to reduce its influence,” Jim Cahill, a mindset information at Sensei Lanai, tells Journey + Leisure. A board-certified biofeedback therapist and former mind researcher at Scripps Analysis Institute, Cahill is intimately conversant in the multitude of parts that affect our sleep patterns. A type of parts is gentle, which he says is extremely efficient for “setting and resetting the physique’s sleep timing.”

“The mind ‘is aware of’ what time of day it’s, partially, based mostly on the alerts from specialised receptors within the eyes whose major operate just isn’t imaginative and prescient, however fairly to find out the time of day based mostly on the colour of the sunshine they encounter,” he explains. “Each dawn and sundown unfold totally different colours by the ambiance that assist keep our sleep rhythms, primarily resetting our circadian rhythm every day.” (In the event you’ve simply flown on a red-eye to Europe, resetting your circadian rhythm will aid you fall asleep on the correct time and cut back the results of jet lag.)

The blue gentle of the morning, Cahill says, “suppresses the discharge of melatonin” and concurrently releases cortisol, which he calls “a form of built-in caffeine that will get us going each morning.” That mentioned, getting a great dose of morning gentle ought to enhance your sleep. “For at the least a number of minutes after waking, go exterior and expose your eyes to pure morning gentle. Get the pure stuff: Even clear glasses or home windows will filter and warp gentle, so let your bare eyeballs be bathed instantly in pure gentle,” he recommends.

As night approaches, you wish to swap to gentle that’s decrease in depth and extra on the hotter facet of the spectrum—similar to the sundown. This enables our melatonin ranges to rise, and, in keeping with Cahill, it “alerts us each mentally and emotionally to begin spinning down for that beautiful tender touchdown into restorative sleep.”

That additionally means it’s further necessary to remain off your telephone as bedtime approaches, or at the least activate night time mode. The intense blue gentle emitted from the gadget is a surefire strategy to disrupt your sleep patterns much more than your lengthy journey day.