The Executive’s Guide to Flourishing: How To Reset After A Long Haul Flight

Reclaim Your Rhythm: How Grounding Can Help You Reset After a Long-Haul Business Trip

You’ve just stepped off a long-haul flight, where time zones blurred, in-flight work demanded your attention, and the stress of a packed itinerary stretched every minute.

Now, you need to hit the ground running in a different time zone.

What’s the fastest way to recalibrate your system, stay sharp, and get the quality rest you need?

Grounding, also known as earthing, might be the solution you haven’t yet considered.

Grounding has long been discussed as a wellness practice, but recent insights suggest it has unique, fast-acting benefits for jet-lagged executives aiming to perform at their best.

Here, we’ll explore how grounding can help you restore your circadian rhythm, reduce cortisol, and prime your body for optimal rest – all while aligning you quickly with local time.

Let’s unpack how this simple practice can offer measurable benefits when you need them most.

The Science Behind Grounding: Why It’s Effective for Resetting Your Circadian Rhythm

Grounding involves direct physical contact with the Earth’s surface—walking barefoot on grass or sand, lying on the ground, or even using grounding devices that simulate this connection.

The Earth has a subtle negative charge, and grounding allows the body to absorb these electrons, which can influence several physiological processes, from inflammation reduction to cortisol balance.

For the jet-lagged executive, these physiological shifts could make all the difference. Grounding doesn’t just promote general wellness; it has specific benefits that align perfectly with the needs of a business traveller aiming to sync with a new time zone (whether away or returning home).

1. Aligning Your Body’s Clock with Local Time

Research shows that grounding can help stabilise the body’s internal clock, aligning it with the natural day-night rhythm.

When you connect with the Earth’s electrons, it appears to offer a “reset” function for your biological clock, easing the transition between time zones.

A study in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health suggested that grounding might actually help stabilize your sleep-wake cycle by syncing your body’s circadian rhythm to the Earth’s frequency, offering a shortcut to jet-lag recovery.

This grounding effect becomes crucial after a long-haul flight when your internal rhythm is out of sync with local time. By taking a short walk on the grass or beach upon arrival—or using grounding mats if you’re in the city, you can begin recalibrating your body to the local day-night cycle immediately.

2. Lowering Cortisol for Deeper, Restorative Sleep

When you’re shifting time zones, cortisol—the body’s primary stress hormone—often spikes, throwing off your sleep quality.

Elevated cortisol makes it harder to sleep deeply and stay on schedule, exacerbating jet lag.

Grounding has been shown to have a natural balancing effect on cortisol, aligning it more closely with the natural day-night cycle.

A study published in Psychological Reports found that grounding during sleep improved cortisol levels, supporting a more natural cortisol rhythm and deeper, more restorative sleep.

For a leader, this means waking up sharper, reducing mental fog, and showing up ready for high-stakes meetings.  Qualities that are critical when adapting to a new business environment.

3. Reducing Inflammation for Faster Recovery

Jet lag and disrupted sleep cycles can contribute to inflammation, which further hinders recovery and mental clarity.

Grounding has been associated with reducing blood viscosity and inflammation, as noted in the Journal of Inflammation Research. This benefit can be transformative after a long flight, where the confined space and lack of movement create a perfect environment for inflammation to build.

Lower inflammation means less fatigue and a more robust immune system, which is especially beneficial when travelling frequently for business.

By grounding yourself upon arrival, you’re setting your body up for faster recovery and improved resilience, allowing you to perform at your peak.

4. Supporting Melatonin Production for Better Sleep Quality

Melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep, is essential for syncing with a new time zone.

While studies on grounding’s direct effect on melatonin are limited, grounding has been shown to reduce stress and improve autonomic nervous system function, which in turn may enhance melatonin production.

If you find yourself struggling to sleep after a flight, grounding could indirectly help balance melatonin by calming the nervous system, setting the stage for a more restful night.

The outcome? You wake up better aligned with local time and ready for the day’s demands.

Practical Steps for Grounding When You Land

Grounding may sound like an abstract concept, but in practice, it’s remarkably simple to integrate. Here are a few ways you can incorporate grounding immediately upon landing:

                  1.             Take a Walk Barefoot Outdoors: If there’s a grassy area or beach near your hotel, spend 10-15 minutes walking barefoot. This direct connection with the Earth and exposure to daylight can accelerate the process of syncing your internal clock.

                  2.             Use Grounding Mats Indoors: If going outdoors isn’t feasible, grounding mats can provide similar effects. Place your bare feet on a grounding mat while sitting at a desk to begin absorbing the Earth’s electrons. (always safety test sockets before use).

                  3.             Sleep Grounded: Many grounding mats can be used during sleep, allowing you to get the benefits overnight (always safety test sockets before use). This approach is particularly helpful if you have a short timeframe to adjust and need to maximise recovery.

The Bottom Line: Making Grounding Part of Your Jet-Lag Recovery Routine

For the leader on the move, grounding offers a natural, science-backed approach to restore your circadian rhythm, reduce stress, and improve sleep quality after a long-haul flight.

By integrating grounding practices upon landing, you can improve your body’s adaptability, boost mental clarity, and be better equipped to perform on local time.

So next time you step off a plane and need to hit the ground running, consider the power of grounding.

In a matter of minutes, this simple practice could be the key to recharging your body, syncing with your environment, and reclaiming your rhythm, right when you need it most.

Sources:

                  •               Chevalier, G., Sinatra, S. T., Oschman, J. L., Sokal, K., & Sokal, P. (2012). Earthing: Health implications of reconnecting the human body to the Earth’s surface electrons. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012.

                  •               Ghaly, M., & Teplitz, D. (2004). The biological effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress. Psychological Reports, 95(3 Pt 2), 1143-1153.

                  •               Chevalier, G. (2013). The effect of grounding the human body on mood. Journal of Inflammation Research, 6, 83-96.

Grounding may be a relatively small shift, but for leaders who need every edge, it could make all the difference.