Improve your performance when traveling abroad

Gary Miller

- by Gary Miller, former coach of the US Ski Team

As a competitor, coach, and businessman for the past 40+ years, I’ve crisscrossed the globe hundreds of times. And no matter how many times I traveled “over the pond,” I suffered the ills of jet lag. On some trips, I didn’t feel too bad upon arrival, and others were just plain miserable – with symptoms lasting for days. You cannot escape it. The only thing you can do is minimize the effects. 

Today, there are lots of “so-called” remedies for Jet Lag. Trust me, I’ve used most of them at one time or another. Some work a little, and others don’t work at all. Amazingly, I found a device that works well and doesn’t involve taking some funky concoction of vitamins, herbs, or whatever. It’s called the HumanCharger.

Let’s first delve into the root of the problem. Crossing multiple time zones, from light to dark (or vice versa), while sitting in an aluminum tube at 36,000 feet, your circadian rhythm will be affected. Science has proven this fact for a long time. However, most people who travel internationally just seem to accept that jet lag is a fact of life. 

Huh? Yep, it’s become a forgone conclusion that you’re going to get Jet Lag on your overseas trip. However, it shouldn’t be this way. Why? For two reasons:

1) If you’re an athlete or a business executive, performance is paramount for success, why take the risk?

2) If you’re an average Joe or Jane and paid top dollar for a week’s vacation in Europe, why waste the first few days feeling miserable? 


Consider these scenarios that occur every day:

What about the businessman who has spent hours, days, and weeks preparing for a major presentation that is crucial for his or her company? Putting all that effort into something, only to feel jet-lagged and sub-par when you have to deliver? Crazy!

What about the elite sports team that flies to Europe or Asia for a major sporting event, where a win would move them up in the overall standings, yet they show up feeling like they had already played the game? We saw it with the Green Bay Packers who played in London during one season. They played ok in the first half but fell apart and lost the game in the 4th quarter. Jet-Lag catches up with you. Double crazy! 

Folks – scenarios like this happen every day, all over the world, and after so many years of international travel, you would think we would know better. Nope. Still happens. All the time. I’ll give you another example:

It’s 2014, and I’m coaching the U.S. Ski Team (ladies in the technical events – slalom and giant slalom). We have the best female skier in the world on our roster, and the second Ski World Cup slalom race of the season is in Levi, Finland. It’s the end of November and we’re training on snow at Copper Mountain, Colorado. We have to fly from Denver to Boston to Stockholm and on to Levi (which is a very long journey), and our head coach wants to leave three days before the race. Remember, when flying to Europe, you jump into tomorrow quickly. I begged him to make it 5 days (as I was well versed on the effects of jet lag), but he was convinced we would lose valuable training time in Colorado for one race. As you can imagine, the head coach was not swayed by my logic, and I lost the argument. 

Levi, Finland is a stunning location, about 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. However, it’s not a climate paradise from November through February, where the sun comes up around 10:00a and cruises along the horizon until around 2:00p. Therefore, it’s cold and dark most of the time – which is in stark contrast to Colorado where we had sun from around 7:30a until 4:30p. You see where I’m going with this, right? 

We departed three days before the race and encountered weather issues in Boston (because it’s winter), and our flight was delayed. Long story short, we arrived late on the night before the race. Our athletes were exhausted and jet-lagged from not only the long flight but also the delays. In 6 hours, they had to be up and on the slopes in Levi, in the dark, and expected to perform at their peak. Our best athlete? Sadly, it was probably one of her worst performances, and she was none too happy. This situation could have been avoided with proper planning, in addition to utilizing a simple little device and a system to combat jet lag. 

Jet-Lag experts will tell you that for a 6-hour change in time zones, the normal recovery time to reach 100% performance would be 12-24 hours per time zone or 3-6 days. The following season (2015), and going forward, the U.S. Ski Team now makes every effort to give their athletes a minimum of 3 days to recover and acclimate when traveling abroad. This past season, the Women’s World Cup Tech Team spent the week before the aforementioned World Cup race, training in Levi. The result? Our star athlete secured two victories in two races. 

Fortunately, due to advances in science and technology, we are getting better at finding systems that can not only mitigate the symptoms of jet lag but also come close to eliminating the problem almost entirely. 

In my quest to find a solution for jet lag, I met a Swedish gentleman who is co-owner of the HumanCharger – a remarkably compact bright light device that was initially developed to combat SAD (seasonal affective disorder) during the long winters in northern Europe. It just happens that bright light also resets a person’s circadian rhythm. The small, easy-to-use, and affordable HumanCharger gently resets your body clock as you jet across the pond in either direction. 

As the owner of a travel company, having the HumanCharger in my quiver is a huge advantage for a couple of reasons. One, as a host and ski coach, I arrive fresh and am “on my game” from day one, making sure our guests arrive safely and get settled. 

Two, if our guests utilize the HumanCharger, they arrive and can ski, bike, or golf with normal energy levels the next day vs. feeling sleepy in the afternoon. When you come to Europe for sports, the last thing you want to do is waste the first 2-3 days feeling drained of energy. 

You would think after a century of international air travel, the airlines would have evolved enough to better help passengers overcome jet lag. No such luck. They are still following the same old protocol by serving drinks, a meal service, and then lights out for a few hours. With food service quality at an all-time low, why would you want to eat their food anyway? Unless you’re in Business Class or First Class, the food is not worth feeding your pet. 

For maximum performance on any overseas trip, whether it’s for business or pleasure, you need a Flight Plan – which is designed by the experts. It’s no different than competing in a sporting event, manufacturing a widget, or running a management meeting – paying attention to the details is paramount to optimum performance. You or your company just spent a lot of money on an international flight, so don’t piss it away by following outdated airline procedures and end up feeling janky for a couple of days. 


Here is a simple and effective Flight Plan developed by the experts who make the HumanCharger:

- Begin using the HumanCharger daily for a week or more before your flight. 

- Reduce caffeine consumption a couple of days before flying – it will better allow you to reset your circadian rhythm.

- Plan to eat at home or before you board the flight, something easy to digest – I prefer a salad with protein and a fruit drink.

- Reset your watch to the destination time zone and DON’T LOOK BACK!

- Plan to get active rest or sleep on the flight for 4-5 hours of your flight time. After take-off begin to shut down and use your Eye Shades, Ear Plugs, or Noise Cancelling Headphones. If you’re able to sleep on planes – go for it. If not, then an active reset is important and will help you get through the next day.

- Wear compression socks to eliminate swelling in your feet and prevent blood clots.

- Bring your neck pillow – vs. using the standard airline pillow

- Dress comfortably – I prefer wool zip-turtlenecks and a light sweater or vest over the top.

- Skip the Dinner served in the middle of the night and stay hydrated. Do not drink alcoholic beverages on the flight – the air at 36,000 ft. is very dry and can enhance dehydration.

- Drink a 1L bottle of water with your meal before boarding and bring a 1.5L bottle of water onboard.

- Skip the airline breakfast – which is usually worse than the dinner. After clearing Customs and getting your luggage, take the time to have a coffee, tea, or croissant - which helps start your clock again. 


Now the fun part! For the ultimate in Travel Performance, follow this guideline on how to effectively use the HumanCharger to remediate jet lag.

- If your flight is eastward, use HumanCharger first thing in the morning and early afternoon, four times during the day at 2-hour intervals (for example at 8 am, 10 am, 12 noon, and 2 pm local time).

- Repeat each day until you feel recovered.

- For westward flights, use HumanCharger from late afternoon to evening, four times a day at 2-hour intervals (for example at 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm, and 9 pm local time).

- Repeat each day until you feel recovered.

- It is not recommended to take more than four 12-minute HumanCharger sessions per day.

-You can also use the HumanCharger Jet Lag Calculator to fine-tune your process.

Follow these simple tips and incorporate the HumanCharger and you’ll not only experience more energy upon arrival but more importantly, perform at your best while participating in sports and/or delivering your best presentation ever! Safe travels!

/ Gary Miller

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