Having just returned from my second Japanese tour as “team doctor” with the Metropolitan Opera, I thought a few reflections might be interesting to those among you who tour. Actually, this is probably most useful to the occasional or first-time vocal tourist, since frequent travellers usually have worked out their own rules for survival. While touring with a large company (or any company) offers many pleasures, potential problems also abound. The itinerary is certainly an important factor: staying in one city for a week or more allows everyone to nest, whereas daily runouts and packing/unpacking heighten the stress level. Working as a general physician as well as laryngologist, I found that most problems fell into three groups: jet lag, dietary problems, and emotional stress. I would like to offer a few suggestions to minimize these, realizing that for veteran operatic travelers this is preaching to the converted.
Jet lag refers to the disparity between time of your destination and the diurnal rhythm of your body. The ideal is to adjust as quickly as possible to the new time, as soon after your arrival as possible. While I’m not aware of any foolproof method, particularly for a large time change such as the 13 hours between New York time and Tokyo time, here are a few suggestions. Prior to departing your home, try over a day or two to push your schedule into the new time. For a 12-hour time change, this might mean taking long afternoon naps and sleeping less at night. Try to decaffeinate over the week prior to your departure. On the flight, try to sleep, even if this requires a sleeping pill, and set your sleep time to coincide with your destination schedule. If you have the luxury (which you may, as a soloist, not as a chorister), try to arrive a few days early; it will give you a head start. Upon arrival, force yourself into the new schedule, even if you are tired. Spend as much time out in the sunlight as possible as this powerfully acts on the pineal gland to reset your internal rhythm. If you exercise regularly, find the local health club, and resume a modified routine. While the usual adage of “one day for each hour change” would suggest that it can take almost two weeks to adjust from New York to Tokyo time, in fact it can be reasonably accomplished in less than a week.
Food is the second big issue. Diarrhea, constipation, cramps, etc. abound on tours. My first suggestion is this: drink as much water as you can (find out if it is potable first, of course). While most of us enjoy an occasional culinary adventure, three adventures a day can be overwhelming. If you have a specific breakfast regime, try sticking to it, even if means bringing your own oatmeal from home. Eat plenty of roughage, such as leafy greens, salads, and fruit. Try to minimize eating foods of which you do not know the ingredients. For example, local Japanese cuisine usually includes excess salt, monosodium glutamate, and other additives which at the very least will raise your blood pressure, if not cause migraines. Green tea, healthy in many ways, contains a large amount of caffeine, and can interfere with sleep as well as raise your blood pressure. As a general dietary rule, when in doubt, opt for the familiar. Carbohydrates, if not necessarily exciting or healthy, are a safe standby, whether in the form of rice, potatoes, or bread.
Performance schedules may also vary, forcing you to eat late at night. For example, many performances in Tokyo began at six PM, ending after 9:30 in the evening. Keep in mind the tendency to acid reflux if you retire with a full stomach. It would be better to eat a bigger breakfast or lunch, and have a small supper after the show. Many of the problems associated with the above can be avoided with over-the-counter medications, and you should certainly pack a personal emergency kit with remedies for headaches, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, hyperacidity, and even antibiotics and antihistamines. This is in addition to any prescription drugs that you may regularly take. Carry your first aid kit with you on the plane so that it doesn’t get rerouted. Not every company travels with its own doctor, and you could find yourself spending the afternoon sitting in a local, non-English speaking clinic, or haunting the pharmacies for a relatively simple problem.
And finally, personal stress. For many performers, the fun of travelling is outweighed by the stress of being away from family, of having to be at close quarters with otherwise casual colleagues, and general loneliness. A few suggestions to help with this might be as follows. Organize some specific activities before you go, using the Internet and other sources, so that your free time always has some structure. Try to plan these activities with your friends before you arrive. If you get homesick, email frequently; if you don’t take your own computer, most hotels have email access or an Internet cafe around the corner. And, if you have the option, have family members come to visit, either during the tour or at the end, so that you can turn a potentially onerous “exile” into a family vacation.
DISCLAIMER: The suggestions given by Dr. Jahn in these columns are for general information only, and not to be construed as specific medical advice or advocating specific treatment, which should be obtained only following a visit and consultation with your own physician.
