Sleep Medicine Network
Non-Respiratory Sleep Section
Want to feel your best when enjoying CHEST 2023 sessions, games, vendors, networking events, and much more on the island paradise of Hawai’i? It’s time to start making plans to align your circadian rhythm with Hawai’i Standard Time (HST).
Dr. Sabra Abbott, a circadian rhythm expert and the Director of the Circadian Medicine Clinic at Northwestern University, recommends “to best adapt to the time zone change, you can take advantage of the time-of-day specific phase shifting properties of light and melatonin.”
Luckily, afternoon/early evening light exposure is encouraged, which will help get some extra hours on the beach! Don’t forget your sunglasses to help with blocking light in the morning.
Once the meeting has concluded, attendees from mainland USA will need to advance their internal clocks earlier as they travel east back home. This can be achieved by taking melatonin 0.5 mg around bedtime and seeking bright-light during the mid-to-late morning.
To develop a personalized sleep prescription based on your time zone and preferred sleep times, you can use an online jet lag calculator, such as Jet Lag Rooster (jetlag.sleepopolis.com; no affiliations with authors or Dr. Abbott).
To learn more about circadian rhythm alignment when working and traveling, we’ll see you at the CHEST 2023 session “Shifting to Hawai’i – Jet Lag, Shift Workers, and Sleep for Health Care Providers” (10/8/2023 at 0815-HST). If you haven't registered for the meeting, make sure to do so soon! You'll find the full schedule, pricing, and more at the CHEST 2023 website.
Paul Chung, DO – Section Fellow-in-Training
Lisa Wolfe, MD – Section Member-at-Large
William Healy, MD – Section Member-at-Large