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Desynchronosis

1/24/2015

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Jet lag, biological clock and circadian rhythms.

Few things that I don't love about traveling- delays, turbulence, take offs and landings. But jet lag is worst as it takes the longest time to fix itself.

Our bodies are wired with a natural 24 hour biological clock, otherwise known as the circadian rhythm. In more simple terms, our body clock is driven by an internal time keeping system which is influenced by light-dark cycle of night and day. This clock regulates our daily activities such as sleeping, waking, and eating along with body temperature regulation.

Any alteration to this body clock when you travel from west to east (or vice versa) on the globe on a high speed aircraft can cause circadian dysrhythmia or desynchronosis or simply a jet lag.

Researchers have linked this disruption to two groups of neurons at the base of the hypothalamus, located in the brain. One group is synchronized with deep sleep which results from physical fatigue. The second group controls the dream state of rapid eye movement, also known as REM sleep. Hopping a few time zones can mess up this system. Since I was traveling east I fast forwarded my life by about 10 hours, crossing nine time zones.

But what is a time zone?

Noon is the time when the sun is at its highest in the sky. Since the Earth rotates at the rate of 15 degrees every hour, The sun is at its highest point in the sky at different times throughout the day for different countries around the globe. Hence, we divide the world into 24 equal slices or zones, 15 degrees each, and adjust the clocks accordingly for each zone. The Greenwich Meridian in England is used as a starting point to determine time, so you can say it is "zone zero". As you move East, the clock moves forward, which results in a loss of time.

So from Boston to Amsterdam, the time difference is "minus five hours".
From Amsterdam to New Delhi another 5 hours are lost.
A total 10 hours got fast forwarded in my life.

Interesting fact: you do not experience jetlag when you fly north to south or vice versa even on a long haul flights because you stay in the same time zone.

For globe trotting there is an app called Jetlag Genie and Jetlag Rescue that makes things easy by creating a schedule of when you should eat, sleep, and nap in order to adjust to new time zone.
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A "Stressor"

1/19/2015

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I met my first "stressor" right here at the Boston airport. Let me define a stressor first.Stressor: any event that provokes a stress is called a stressor. A stressor can be something external from the outside world or internal. Mine was a delayed take off.The stressor disturbed my homeostasis- my stable internal environment.So my 6.45pm is now bumped up to an 11:30pm take off since the plane has some hydraulics issues. Thankfully a new plane, coming from Detroit, will be replacing the original airplane.As of now it looks like I have very narrowly averted a disaster because due to the 5 hour delay, this means 5 hours of layover time in Schiphol has been lost, meaning my layover in the Netherlands is just a slim 45 minutes. Looks like I'll have to run and catch my connecting flight to New Delhi! The flight attendant had full faith in my sprinting abilities and he was also helpful and kind enough to change my seat from the middle of the plane to near the gate so that I could exit as soon as we land in Schiphol, Amsterdam.So the lesson learnt here is - expect the unexpected. Be prepared for events you planned and for those that appear without notice. Having a plan B is always a good idea.Keeping my fingers crossed, I didn't have to change any variables - I just needed to tweak the logistics a bit.On the plus side, the airlines provided the passengers numerous drinks, snacks, fruits and sandwiches. Also, Sudoku and playing cards can make the time pass a lot quicker. I even made friends with a lady who was flying to Ghana, Africa to see her family.As I'm waiting for a "healthy plane" to arrive, I'm wondering what other twists and turns and curve balls I might have to dodge.


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In For a Long Haul

1/18/2015

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I have been asked how long will it take for you to reach India from the US? Well, it is a long haul and there are two options.

You can take a direct flight out of JFK, New York to New Delhi, India on Continental Airlines. It is a direct, nonstop flight that keeps you in the skies for around 17 hours. If you want to test your endurance and shave off a couple hours from your travel time you might consider it. However, living in a metal tube for 17 hours does not work for me. Of some concern and risk to such fliers is DVT- deep vein thrombosis - a serious condition where blood clots form in people who sit still for long periods of time. These blood clots, generally in the deep veins of the legs can break loose, travel through your bloodstream and lodge in your lungs, blocking blood flow (pulmonary embolism) and even causing death. Experts, therefore, advise airline passengers to get up from their seats and walk up and down the aisles periodically.

The second option is to take a flight with a layover in various cities depending on which airlines you book your tickets with. Mine is KLM with in transit for 5 hours in Schiphol, Amsterdam. So here is the breakdown:

Boston to Amsterdam =   7 hours, covering 3,451 miles
Layover in Amsterdam = 5 hours
Amsterdam to New Delhi = 9 hours, covering 4,000 miles

But wait, I’m still not home yet. Now, I will board a train from New Delhi to Ludhiana, Punjab which is a 5 hour ride covering 205 miles.
So for the total of 26 hours, I will travel 7,655 miles which is 18 times back and forth from Boston to New York.

Well, that is some endurance!!!
All packed up and ready to take off!!

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My First Blog

1/14/2015

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Let me begin by saying that blogging is way out of my comfort zone. However, I have promised myself that this is all about challenging myself to try and do new things. So, here I go.
 First of all building the blog was way easy than what I had thought it would be. I was genuinely surprised by how much I learned in the process. Here are a few of my favorites:
1. I love Google. Google anything you want to learn and some smart person has already spent countless hours and years of talent to code and design posts, pages and tutorials for you to follow and learn how to do whatever you want to do.
2. You do not have to have a perfect blog site. You can mess around, customize it, change it whenever you want, modify it, complicate it etc. No need to be overwhelmed.
3. You will be really happy and thrilled with what you create because now you can get started and start sharing, chronicling your thoughts and experiences about something you are passionate about.
4. Quitting is an option, but don't: Well, starting a blog site is extremely affordable. I used weebly for free and can upgrade as I go along. The challenge will be to sustain it. I have never done anything like this, the closest I've gotten to posting anything is wishing people on their birthdays and anniversaries on Facebook. But since I built this, I will update it, I will nurture it. So help me by reading ,liking ( there is no button for that feature alas!) and commenting on my posts.
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    Amber- Precious & Preservative
    Anatomy Meets Art
    A Stressor
    Athens - Democracy
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    Biomimicry- When Nature Inspires
    Desynchronosis
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    In For A Long Haul
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    My First Blog
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