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Jet Lag Syndrome:
Using Horary Points to Relieve the Symptoms of Jet Lag

Jeffrey Benton D.C. and Paul MacKenzie D.C., LAc.

When Marco Polo traveled to Kublai-Khan during the 1200's and Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas some 200 years later, probably the only thing that they did not have to worry about is the daze many modern day jet travelers experience as they zoom across the sky and cross many time zones at near mach-1 speeds. Jet Lag Syndrome is the term given to a number of symptoms* which we experience as a result of our body's normal rhythmic patterns being thrown askew when we cross many time zones very quickly. (* The debilitating effects of Jet Lag range from extreme fatigue, nausea, headache, reduced memory, attention lapse and overall disturbed sleep patterns.) 

Jet lag occurs when our body's natural daily (circadian) rhythm becomes disoriented. Scientists and doctors know that secretory rates of many hormones are linked to a 24-hour cycle. Until the body readjusts to the new zone, many people experience Jet Lag Syndrome. 

The Circadian Cycle - The body has many rhythms governing our lives. Babies are most often born late at night; heart attacks peak at 10 A.M. Almost every aspect of our life is timed. We have many internal biological "clocks". The ones that pertain to a 24 hour period are referred as circadian cycles (the Latin circa, meaning about, and dies, meaning day)⁷. The most familiar of these cycles is the sleep/awake cycle. 

Laboratory tests cite suggestive evidence that cells can keep time on their own, showing regular cyclic activity even when they're isolated in lab cultures and cut off from outside stimuli. Scientists have been studying cells to locate the mainspring mechanism responsible for this clockwork precision. Light and darkness (our diurnal cycle) trigger the sleep/awake cycle. Our bodies are accustomed to night descending at a certain time each day. In fact, the hormone Melatonin is produced in the dark while we sleep and fades at daylight; bright light turns off the hormone.⁶ This hormone is secreted from the Pineal gland. This gland is called the timekeeper of the brain, and helps govern the sleep-wake cycle. When we travel, our circadian rhythm uncouples with the diurnal rhythm. 

Chinese medicine has studied the different cycles for centuries, and the development of acupuncture is based on their acute observations. They noticed that the body has different energy centers. During a 24 hour period, certain energy centers are at a high point while others are at a low point. Imagine you were riding a Ferris wheel. You are strapped into a large rotating ring. At certain times you are at the top of the ring. Other times you are at the bottom. The body has an energetic cycle. In relation to our body, the Ferris wheel represents the body's meridian system. Throughout the diurnal cycle, certain areas of the meridian system are going to be at the high point of the wheel, while other parts (meridians) will be at the low point of the wheel. Note: The body's Ferris wheel turns slowly. It takes 24 hours for it to complete one full turn. The body has 12 different meridians. The end of one meridian is connected to the beginning of the next meridian, so they are all connected and form a closed loop like the Ferris wheel. In a 24 period, you will spend 2 hours in each meridian as you pass through all 12 meridians ending up where you started. When the chi energy (life force energy) is in a certain meridian, say the 'lung meridian', we say that the meridian is at its energetic peak. This 2 hour peak period is called the 'Horary period'. Twelve hours later that meridian will be at its lowest energy level. 

One 24 hour cycle around the body's Ferris wheel is called a 'Horary cycle'. (In the West, we call this cycle our biological clock, diurnal cycle and circadian cycle.) The 12 different meridians are named after an organ (liver, lung, etc.) with the exception of 2 meridians, which are named triple heater and circulation sex. The ancient Chinese calculated which meridian was at its peak during the 24 hour period. If we start at 3:00 A.M., the lung meridian is at its Horary period for two hours. Two hours later, at 5:00 A.M., the large intestine meridian takes over as the most energized meridian and holds that position for another 2 hours. 

The other meridians follow suit and continue around the circuit. The last meridian in the cycle is the liver meridian, which is at its energetic zenith from 1:00 AM to 3:00 A.M. Then the cycle begins again. This Horary period is in relation to the position of the sun. The biological clock must either speed up (when we move from east to west) or back up (when we move from west to east)². Individuals who have high energy levels in their meridian system experience minimal symptoms when flying long journeys. 

Other individuals are not as fortunate. The best treatment for individuals suffering from jet lag is to balance the meridian system^3,4. Stimulating (massaging) specific Horary points on the body allows the energy to transfer from one meridian to another, thus helping the biological clock update itself in mid-flight. Jet Lag Eliminator allows the air traveler to quickly identify these points and reset their own circadian rhythm thereby reducing, if not eliminating, the ill effects of jet travel.

1. Walther, D.S. Synopsis of Applied Kinesiology Systems DC 1988, pp.208-209, 249. 
2. Pennel, R.J. and Heuser, G.D. The How To Seminar of Acupuncture for Physicians IPCI Inc, 1973, pp. 58-68.
3. Amaro, John "An Ancient Approach to Beating 20th Century Jet Lag" Dynamic Chiropractic March 1, 1989, pp.12-17. 
4. Amaro, John "Cheating Time-An Ancient Approach to Beating 20th Century Jet Lag" Dynamic Chiropractic April 1, 1989, pp.14-16. 
5. Khoe, Willem H. "Treatment of Jet Lag Syndrome by Acupuncture" AmericanJournal of 
6. Acupuncture Vol. 6 No 2 June 1978, pp.135-139.
7. Klatz, R.M. Hormones of Youth Sport Tech Labs, Inc 1999, pp.84-91.
8. Stedman, Thomas Stedman's Medical Dictionary 25th edition. Williams & Wilkins 1990.
9. Guyton, Arthur C. Textbook of Medical Physiology 6th edition. W.B.
Saunders 1981, pp.952.
10. Ratloff, J. Drug of Darkness: Can a Pineal Hormone Head Off Everything from Breast Cancer to Aging? Science News 147, pp. 300-1.
 
  

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