researchers have come up with a new way for travellers to recover quickly from jet lag – don’t eat for 16 hours.
They made the discovery while investigating the internal biological clock that governs our daily sleep-wake cycle.
Scientists have long known that our 24-hour “circadian rhythm” is regulated by a group of cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain. These cells, which represent the body’s main clock, are sensitive to changes in light conditions registered through the optic nerve in the eye.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have now pinpointed a second clock that is set by the availability of food
Dr. Saper says long-distance travellers can probably use this food clock to adjust rapidly to a new time zone.
“A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock,” he said in a statement released with the study. Once you eat again, your internal clock will be reset as though it is the start of a new day.
This is something to remember the next time you undertake a long trip!
