New Understanding of Jet Lag Study May Explain Why Biological Clock Is Slow to Reset After Transmeridian Travel.

AScribe Health News Service, June, 2005

Byline: University of Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study demonstrates that the brain's central timekeeper -- the biological clock that regulates waking and sleeping cycles -- has two parts that fall out of synchrony during light schedule shifts of six hours, the time it takes to fly across the Atlantic.

The finding may explain, at least in part, why transmeridian travelers suffer from jet lag, the malaise experienced after crossing several time zones. The new understanding could eventually lead to the development of medicines that would "reset" the biological clock so travelers could adjust much more quickly to rapid time zone changes. Most people require about two-and-a-half days to adjust to a six-hour flight...

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