The SHN #8: Beating Jet Lag, Knowing Your Ribs, and the Amish

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, we’ll explore the negative effects of jet lag and how to best prepare for your next long-distance trip.

After that, we discover the body’s infrasternal angle and how it can be an important piece of the puzzle in your health journey.

Then comes a discussion on a report coming out of the Amish population.

Finally, I’ll include some links to things I’ve found particularly interesting recently.

Joe Burt

Beating Jet Lag

Being able to fly all around the world is magic, but it also exposes us to a host of challenges and potential negative health effects.

Trapped inside a diminutive metal tube, you find yourself bombarded by solar radiation, detached from the protective embrace of the Earth's magnetic field. Moreover, your senses are assailed by the ceaseless stream of Wi-Fi signals, conversations, the dehydrating effects of high altitude, the arid and filtered air, the dubious fare served aboard the aircraft, the questionable quality of water, the invisible threat of airborne pathogens, and to top it all off, the notorious jet lag if your journey spans multiple time zones.

Jet lag, that notorious foe familiar to seasoned travelers, reveals its miserable symptoms: a prolonged struggle to fall asleep (especially when heading eastward), untimely awakenings (particularly when traveling westward), interrupted sleep patterns, diminished mental acuity, pervasive weariness, pounding headaches, frayed nerves, indigestion, constipation, and a disconcerting waning of appetite and culinary delight.

If you’re like me, you can add fuel to the fire by excessive worry about falling victim to these unwanted byproducts of long distance travel.

Here are some ways to combat jetlag:

Pre-Flight

Do your best to shift your circadian rhythm to your target destination. If you're traveling east, try going to bed one hour earlier each night for a few days before your trip. If you're flying west, go to bed one hour later for several nights before you fly. If possible, eat meals closer to the time you'll be eating them during your trip.

During Flight

-Wear Blue Light Blockers and/or Wear an Eye Mask: Whether you’re traveling between time zones or not, blocking the damaging fluorescent lighting from airplanes will help reduce air travel symptoms. “If you’re taking an evening flight or a red-eye, fluorescent bulbs are even worse: bright blue light tells your body what time it is, and nighttime exposure scrambles your sleep schedule by interfering with your melatonin production.”

-Eliminate Noise: Airplanes are LOUD, so it makes sense to use whatever ear plugs work best for you.

-Drink Lots of Water: Airplane travel is extremely dehydrating. If possible, aim to drink 16-20 ounces of water PER hour of travel, preferably with an electrolyte packet in each one (I use DrinkLMNT). Last time I flew to Europe I bought 5-24 oz. bottles and drank them all with a packet of electrolytes in each.

-Wear Compression Socks/Gear: Air travel impairs blood flow. Compression socks improve circulation in your legs. If you want to get crazy, you can wear full-body compression gear.

-Supplements: There are some you can consider taking. The CoQ10 and PQQ combo supplement is powerful for mitochondrial health which is compromised during air travel. Ketone salts and esters are often recommended for the same reason.

-Move Around: Do your best to stand up and stretch for a few minutes every hour.

After Landing

-Ground: As soon as possible after landing, get your feet connected to the earth. The theory is “grounding yourself after a long flight basically resets your inner clockwork to “local time” on the ground, and thus helps to reduce the jet lag.” You can find a patch of grass after landing and stand there for 20 minutes, make a point to jump in the ocean asap if available, or wear a pair of grounding sandals like EarthRunners or Harmony.

-Exercise: Research shows exercise can regulate circadian rhythms. If you don’t have the juice to workout soon after landing, consider at least walking barefoot in the sunshine on a beach or in a park, light swimming, or some outdoor barefoot yoga.

-Take A Cold Shower: To reduce inflammatory cytokine levels, induce a hormone response, and release a bit of adrenaline, consider hopping into a cold shower when you arrive at your destination.

-Take Melatonin: If traveling 3+ time zones, consider taking high dose melatonin (up to 60-80mg, but even doses between 0.5 to 5mg can be effective) to reboot your circadian rhythm before bed the first night at your new destination. Some biohackers swear by this glutathione/melatonin suppository.

I hope this helps someone avoid some of the undesirable effects of jet lag!

Which Infrasternal Angle Presentation Do You Have?

The Infrasternal Angle (ISA) is a representation of an individual’s respiratory strategy. There are only two: inhalation and exhalation, also commonly referred to as expansion and compression.

The ISA represents the approach the body employs to facilitate efficient airflow by following the path of least resistance. It is characterized by the lower ribs, known as infrasternal ribs, which function like a "bucket handle" and exhibit the greatest flexibility within the entire axial skeleton.

The ISA has an influence on our skeletal positions and joint movements, guiding us towards specific biases.

The two options that exist for the ISA: a wide or narrow orientation.

Here’s a specific video on how to identify if you are a wide or narrow. And for a quick and easy visual demonstration, check out this from Bill Hartman.

Wide ISA

An individual with an infrasternal angle typically measuring over approximately 110 degrees, indicates a compressed axial skeleton. In such cases, the posterior (back) ribcage faces difficulty expanding as it should during normal respiration due to excessive compression.

One of the key compensations seen in individuals with a wide ISA is an inhalation bias. This means that they tend to rely more on an inhalation strategy during respiration, resulting in an outward and upward movement of the ribcage. This compensatory inhalation strategy allows them to complete the full respiratory cycle and take in enough air. However, they may struggle with the exhalation phase, as their ribcage is not as efficient in moving downward and inward.

To address the compensations associated with a wide ISA, treatments may focus on improving the ability to achieve optimal exhalation mechanics. This can be done through various strategies such as diaphragmatic breathing, conscious exhaling, and activities that promote the engagement of the abdominal muscles to facilitate the downward and inward movement of the ribcage during exhalation.

Wide ISA athletes/people are fantastic at short bursts of compression, have lower centers of mass, and are more power/strength oriented.

What to do if you’re a Wide ISA?

Focus on exhalation. Since wide ISA individuals often struggle with the exhalation phase of breathing, practice fully emptying your lungs during each inhale. Specifically focus on your ribs coming in and down at the end of your exhale, with the sides of your ribs compressing in as well.

Engage the abs. Activating and strengthening the abdominal muscles can assist in facilitating the downward and inward movement of the ribcage during exhalation. Exercises such as planks, dead bugs, and other core stabilization exercises can help improve this muscle action.

Incorporate ribcage mobility exercises. Wide ISA individuals may benefit from exercises that improve mobility and dynamic movement of the ribcage. This can include exercises like ribcage self-mobilization, thoracic spine rotation exercises, and ribcage expansions.

Here’s a 6-minute video you can use to warm-up for your training/exercise/run which will address the issues that people with Wide ISA’s commonly have.

Narrow ISA

An individual with a narrow infrasternal angle, typically measuring below approximately 110 degrees (often significantly less), exhibits certain characteristics:

They have excessively inflated "pump handle" ribs in the front of their ribcage. Interestingly, their diaphragm shows a significant descent. This pronounced flattening/descent of the diaphragm alters the muscle's pull on the ribcage, resulting in the abdomen being drawn inward and upward. This action aids in the convergence of the infrasternal angle.

One of the key compensations seen in individuals with a narrow ISA is an exhalation bias. This means that they tend to rely more on an exhalation strategy during respiration, resulting in a downward and inward movement of the ribcage. This compensatory exhalation strategy allows them to complete the full respiratory cycle and effectively expel air. However, they may struggle with the inhalation phase, as their ribcage is not as efficient in moving outward and upward.

To address the compensations associated with a narrow ISA, treatments may focus on improving the ability to achieve optimal inhalation mechanics. This can be done through various strategies such as diaphragmatic breathing, conscious inhaling, and activities that promote expansion and movement of the ribcage during inhalation.

Narrow ISA individuals use longer ranges of motion to distribute force, have a higher center of mass, and are typically better suited for flexibility, endurance, and rotational activities.

What to do if you’re a Narrow ISA?

Focus on inhalation. Since individuals with a narrow ISA often struggle with the inhalation phase, it's important to prioritize exercises and techniques that promote effective inhalation. This can include diaphragmatic breathing and conscious inhaling, ensuring that you fully expand the ribcage and lungs during each inhale. Specifically, inhaling into the sides of your ribs to spread them out wide is advised.

Strengthen the posterior chain. Since narrow ISA individuals tend to have an exhalation bias and may exhibit limited extension and posterior chain strength, it can be beneficial to focus on strengthening the muscles of the posterior chain. Exercises like deadlifts, rows, and back extensions can help improve strength and support optimal breathing mechanics.

Here’s a 7-minute video that you can follow along with as a warm-up to exercise which will address the issues common to Narrow ISA individuals.

Final Thoughts:

Your ISA can determine your breathing strategy, your resting posture, and your competency in movements (what exercises/sports are best suited for you or most challenging for you).

There is a spectrum here. Generally, people with narrow ISA’s will be seen on the distance running circuit and people with wide ISA’s will be seen anchoring the offensive line of your favorite NFL team.

Knowing which ISA you are will lead you to make better decisions in your warmups, exercise routines, and daily life in the form of postural and breathing considerations.

If you are interested but confused by this all, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Things That Make You Go “Hmmmmm….”

A report exploded into my Twitter feed, mainly among the alternative health crowd, that said “a new comprehensive study presented in front of the Pennsylvania Senate finds zero Amish children diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or autism.”

You can listen to the testimony here.

Many jumped at the opportunity to claim that vaccine use is the major difference between Amish children and non-Amish, using that to blame for the stark difference in populations. There may be some truth to that (I’m sure there is), but my first instinct leads to me to identifying the other differences in lifestyles between the two groups.

The Amish people are connected to the land, engaging in agricultural work while keeping with the rhythms of the Earth, thereby maintaining a quality sleep-wake cycle.

Rising with the sun, being outside, getting sunlight, exposure to animals and natural bacteria, little to no exposure to artificial light, early bedtimes.

Nutrient-dense, farm-to-table food over processed junk and fast food.

Minimal non-native electromagnetic fields (nnEMF) like 5G, WiFi, etc.

Non-stop movement instead of sitting at the screens all day and night.

A strong community where everyone has a role rather than stark individualism.

There are countless other differences but the point is clear: living a life more in rhythm with the Earth and away from the toxic soup that continues to engulf us is beneficial to human health.

I understand that living in modern times makes many things unavoidable. It’s not necessary to live like the Amish to be healthy. However, it is intriguing to observe a valuable lesson from a sizable "control" group of around 400,000 individuals, which reveals that disease prevalence significantly decreases when living in a manner similar to the Amish. This insight offers an enlightening perspective on the impact of lifestyle choices on overall well-being.

Martial Arts Gives Kids Resilience: A study out of Australia “found that the martial arts-based intervention had a significantly positive effect on developing students' resilience.” With the sharp increase in mental health issues among the youth, it seems that giving them some exposure to martial arts can be an effective intervention.

Blue Light Blocking Glasses: Still haven’t gotten a pair? Here’s a list of the top five blue light blocking glasses with video reviews and coupon codes.

Beehiiv: This is the newsletter platform I use to send out these emails. I love it. It’s incredibly easy to use and extremely customizable. If you ever had a drive to do something similar, why not give it a shot? If you decide to start one I’d love to hear about it!

The Chi Palm Infratonic 11: “This incredible (but very expensive) device harnesses the ancient wisdom of Chinese healing methods, and combines it with modern technology to deliver a truly unique pain relief solution. By delivering unpredictable sound wave frequencies and magnetic fields the Chi Palm relieves pain and inflammation, improves circulation, and quickly relieves stress.” I’ve used this device to eliminate chronic knee and Achilles issues and know others who have used it for similar “miraculous” benefits.

That will do it for this time! Hopefully you got some value out of it. If you have any questions/comments/things you’d like to learn more about please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, pass it along!