 "US President Donald Trump waves upon his arrival at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan. Kyodo/Reuters")
US President Donald Trump is globetrotting at the moment. After departing from Washington on Friday (October 24), he landed in Malaysia on Sunday (October 26) for the first leg of his Asia trip, which will also see him travel to Japan and South Korea.
One of Trump’s constant companion through this high-stakes Asia visit, which will also see him having a sit-down with China’s Xi Jinping, will be jet lag. After all, the American leader will be hopping from one time zone to another — resulting in a significant disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms.
The question is how is the American leader coping with this situation? And what about other world leaders?
What’s on Trump’s Asia itinerary?
Last Friday, Donald Trump boarded Air Force One — his official aircraft — for a very important Asia visit . He began his Southeast Asia trip with his first stop in Malaysia where one saw him dancing with performers on the tarmac of the airport in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also joined the American president, swaying to the music. And we have got to say that Trump looked fresh as ever despite a 23-hour flight.
Following his viral, yet cringe worthy dance, Trump attended the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), following which he presided over the signing of a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia.
After Malaysia, Trump is now making his way to Japan where not only will he meet with the emperor , but also hold talks newly-appointed Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi.
Following his Japan leg, the US president will then hold a highly anticipated meeting with China’s Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. While the APEC summit is set to be held in Gyeongju, the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to take place in the city of Busan, said a US official.
There’s also rumours that the American leader will hold an impromptu meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Speculation has been rife since South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told lawmakers this month it was possible that Trump could again meet with Kim in the Demilitarized Zone, as he did in 2019.
What is jet lag that Trump will have to cope with?
Now, as US President Trump travels from one country to another, he will have to contend with jet lag.
Jet lag is the effect on the human body of travelling across different time zones. Experts describe it as a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, which means it involves disruption to a person’s body clock and sleep after he/she travels rapidly across time zones.
Sofia Axelrod, who studies circadian rhythms at Rockefeller University in the US, explains it best. “When we travel to another time zone, our eyes receive the daylight signal at a different time than usual, causing our internal clocks to reset. But this process can take a while - and it’s during that adjustment period that we feel the effects of jet lag.”
Scientists have found that the body can adjust naturally to one to one-and-a-half changes in time zones per day, but symptoms can arise if a person crosses two or more time zones in one day. The more time zones an individual crosses in a short period, the higher the likelihood of severe jet lag symptoms.
Experts have also found that flying eastward may cause more severe jet lag symptoms than flying toward the west. Researchers say that’s because your body can adapt more quickly to staying up late than going to bed earlier than usual.
And how do you know you are suffering from jet lag? Some may struggle with sleeping or staying awake. Those who suffer from jet lag also complain of fatigue, while in some cases, there are also complains of digestive issues as well as nausea. The important thing to remember, however, is that jet lag is temporary.
Have other world leaders ever complained of jet lag?
Jet lag has often been an issue for world leaders. In fact, there are times when world leaders have suffered embarrassing gaffes owing to jet lag.
Last July, former US President Joe Biden blamed jet lag for his disastrous debate performance during the US presidential elections. Speaking at an event, he said: “I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, going through I don’t how many times zones.
“I didn’t listen to my staff. And then I came back and I nearly fell asleep on stage,” Biden added. “It’s not an excuse but an explanation.”
But it’s not just Biden who has had to cope with jet lag. In 1992, President George HW Bush was in Japan on the 10th of a 12-day, 26,000-mile tour of four Asian countries. At a state dinner in his honour, the president suddenly fell ill, vomited on himself and his host — Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa. The president’s spokesperson, Marlin Fitzwater, later explained that Bush had suffered an attack of gastroenteritis. Given Bush’s extensive itinerary, it is quite possible that his condition was brought on by jet lag, reported Washington Post.
Even Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, during a US trip in 1973 said that he was wearing two watches, one set on Moscow time and the other on Washington time. According to him, the two watches helped him keep track of his body rhythms.
So, how do you fight jet lag?
As a result of their constant flying and their hectic schedules, world leaders have devised ways to contend with this problem. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has travelled the world far and wide but yet possessed energy like no other, has revealed how he copes with jet lag.
He shared with news agency PTI that he has three tips to keep jet lag at bay during his international travels. His first and foremost solution is to hold back-to-back meetings when travelling abroad. This way, there is no time for the body to feel fatigued.
He also tries to accommodate some meetings on his way to the country. Drinking a lot of water also keeps the prime minister healthy and hydrated as airplanes have very low humidity and can leave a flyer dehydrated. Modi also revealed that he tunes his body and his sleep cycle to the destination he’s travelling to.
While these are PM Modi’s techniques to keep jet lag at bay, others have also shared their methods, including eating chocolate, to ensure that one lands at the country fresh and ready for the day.
Most suggest that one should change their body clock and attune themselves to the country they are flying to. For instance, if you are travelling eastwards, move up your bedtime by 30 minutes each night. Some also suggest taking a dose of melatonin shortly before your desired bedtime.
Malcolm von Schantz, a professor who specialises in circadian rhythms at Northumbria University in the UK, noted that timing your flights can help. For example, fly from Europe to North America during the day, so that it’s evening when passengers land and they can get a proper night’s sleep.
“If you take the evening flight instead, you’ll be woken up at midnight to be served breakfast and land an hour or two later, when both jet lag and sleep deprivation will hit you hard and simultaneously,” he was quoted as telling the Associated Press.
Experts have also observed that exposure to sunlight is critical to resetting your internal body clock. That can mean either avoiding morning sun or deliberately seeking it out, depending on where you’ve travelled from. Getting light in the morning will advance your body clock, while light exposure in the early evening will delay it.
Ultimately, no matter what one does, jet lag is inevitable, whether you are a first-time traveller or a seasoned one like our world leaders.
With inputs from agencies