Skip a meal or two to beat jet lag
It's too late to try this trick for the holiday weekend, but some scientists at Harvard Medical School think that they may have discovered a "cure" for jet lag.
Normally, sleeping and eating times are dictated by our circadian rhythms, a kind of biological schedule that is at least partially triggered by daylight. When we travel by airplane to destinations that are far out of our time zone, it takes days or even over a week to catch up. Problem is, few vacations last much longer than that.
When the Harvard scientists worked with mice, however, they found that when food was scarce, a second sort of biological rhythm overrode circadian rhythms, which makes sense because if you sleep through dinner, you aren't going to survive long in the wild. It hasn't been tested in humans yet, but these researchers think that if you fast before your next long airplane ride -- at least 16 hours with no food -- you'll beat jet lag a lot faster than your fellow passengers. Worth a try? What do you think?
Normally, sleeping and eating times are dictated by our circadian rhythms, a kind of biological schedule that is at least partially triggered by daylight. When we travel by airplane to destinations that are far out of our time zone, it takes days or even over a week to catch up. Problem is, few vacations last much longer than that.
When the Harvard scientists worked with mice, however, they found that when food was scarce, a second sort of biological rhythm overrode circadian rhythms, which makes sense because if you sleep through dinner, you aren't going to survive long in the wild. It hasn't been tested in humans yet, but these researchers think that if you fast before your next long airplane ride -- at least 16 hours with no food -- you'll beat jet lag a lot faster than your fellow passengers. Worth a try? What do you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-27-2008 @ 3:46PM
Alex said...
A long plane ride - a stressful situation under the best of circumstances - after a 16 hour fast? Not in my lifetime. Once I get hungry, I have an hour or two to eat before I get grouchy and develop a nasty headache. You wouldn't want to sit next to me on a plane after a 16 hour fast. Of course, I might just pass out and sleep for the whole trip, so it could end up being ok. :)
I think being healthy, eating a well-balanced diet and exercising frequently, (all the time, not just for 4 days before your trip), will help more than anything. The healthier and more fit you are, the less physical and mental stressors affect you.
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