A Harvard study discovered a food related internal clock that helps overcome jet lag. Fast until morning.
In investigating the intricacies of the body’s biological rhythms, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have discovered the existence of a food-related clock which can supersede the light-based master clock that serves as the body’s primary timekeeper
The findings help explain how animals adapt their circadian rhythms in order to avoid starvation, and suggest that by adjusting eating schedules, humans too can better cope with changes in time zones and nighttime schedules that leave them feeling groggy and jet-lagged.
In order to survive, animals appear to have developed a secondary food-related master clock which allows animals to switch their sleep and wake schedules in order to maximize their opportunity of finding food.
A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock, so simply avoiding any food on the plane, and then eating as soon as you land, should help you to adjust – and avoid some of the uncomfortable feelings of jet lag.
Read factlets by:
RSS feed
Email feed
