Help
how many of you have ever suffered from jet lag? looks like scientists have found the answer to your prayers with the special jet lag pill, tentatively named 'longdaysin', that saves you from sleepless nights and mid-afternoon drowsiness.
the new pill is a natural chemical that dramatically slows down the body’s biological clock, allowing it to 'catch up' with the local time.
Dr Steve Kay, of the University of California, San Diego, said: 'Theoretically, longdaysin or a compound like it could be used to correct sleep disorders such as the genetic disorder Familial Advanced Sleep syndrome, which is characterized by a clock that’s running too fast. A compound that makes the clock slow down or speed up can also be used to phase-shift the clock—in other words, to bump or reset the hands of the clock. This would help your body catch up when it is jet lagged or reset it to a normal day-night cycle when it has been thrown out of phase by shift work.'
though the new pill is only being tested now, the scientists believe it could work well on humans.
WHAT IS JET LAG?
Jet lag occurs when someone passes through several time zones. It leads to disturbed sleep patterns, tiredness and lethargy and is caused when the body’s natural clock falls out of sync with the pattern of night and day. The biological clock works on a 24 hour cycle and is reset each day by waking, seeing sunlight and meal times. It controlled by the melatonin released in the body when it gets darker. It affects when people feel tired, and influences their hunger, digestion, bowel habits, blood pressure and body temperature. Jet lag symptoms can be made worse by drinking alcohol on a long haul flight, taking too much coffee or by not sleeping on a plane.
