Next week, I will be going around the world in 7 days, which may sound like an episode of the Amazing Race, or an update of Jules Verne. This Friday, I’ll be leaving NYC headed to Taipei, then to Hong Kong where I will be giving a talk at The Upper House on Monday, March 3rd. If you happen to be in HK on Monday the 3rd at 6:30pm, stop by and say hi. Then it’s off to Kuala Lumpur for a large main stage presentation for Manulife, talking about all things SuperAge. Since KL is exactly on the other side of the planet from New York, I’ll be coming home flying west via Istanbul. Good times. More or less, I will be encased in a metal tube, zipping along high in the sky for 50 hours. Why can’t they replace those stand-up cocktail bars they used to have with a mini gym? I mean, if people can stand at a bar drinking in-flight, couldn’t we have a couple of spin bikes, a TRX, or just some stretching mats? Calling all 747s.
Obviously, odysseys like this are not great for one’s health, and I have toddler-like tolerance for sleep deprivation and jet lag. This is a one-off, and I have had some time to prepare. The first order of business is the time shift, 11 hours, and it doesn’t get much worse than that. Since it feels easier to stay up later and wake later, this is what I have been doing — moving my clock forward 30 minutes a day feels manageable. Light plays a big part in this. When I wake up late in the morning in NY, I wear sunglasses till around 1pm. Then from around 7pm to 10pm I search out the brightest room I can find. Ten days of this will get me about 6 hours of shift or 50% of what I need. Next, I use an app called Time Shifter which helps me coordinate sleep, light, darkness and caffeine to move my clock while in the air. Possible supplements I am considering, thank you to Dr Pete Attia, are: trazodone, 50 mg; phosphatidylserine, 400 mg; magnesium threonate; and glycine. Melatonin zonks me, even at low dosages, and l-theanine turns my sleep into a horror movie, so no-go with them.
When life gives us opportunities, unless they have truly grievous consequences, we say yes. One never knows what new connections one will make, what new insights may arise, and what new learnings one may acquire. Saying no, on the other hand, may make our lives simpler and more temporarily comfortable. Saying no is sometimes the wiser move, but rarely. I recently told myself that I wanted a bigger life, I want more awe, more challenging people, more novelty, more of everything, which means there will be some struggle and discomfort along the way. That’s the deal. We get to choose. I have found that when there is something difficult, something challenging, and not all that comfortable, those are the experiences I tend to get the most out of. Not that I am signing up for a Tough Mudder anytime soon, but a week of extreme travel is well within what I can manage and recover from and, if nothing else, the meeting of new people, the food, and the hospitality in Asia will be tremendous.
Onward and upward,
David
