Jet lag is a familiar malady to most anyone who flies across time zones. And it's been studied by scientists for years. The first study on the effects of jet lag, which the FAA conducted in 1965, found that all test subjects felt fatigue and experienced significant impairment of "psychological performance."
Over the past few decades, researchers have completed dozens of studies, using humans and lab animals as test subjects, without much luck in finding a cure. One such study found that jet lag in hamsters was reduced when they ingested small doses of a well-known erectile medication. For humans, that treatment has obvious drawbacks. Who comes up with these ideas anyway?
One study, published in the May 2008 issue of the journal Science, reported that fasting for sixteen hours before a long-distance flight might enable travelers to better resist jet lag. The theory is that fasting can reset the brain's internal "clock," helping it adjust faster to a new time zone.
I'm sure most flight crews would dread any flight carrying large numbers of passengers who were starving before they even boarded the aircraft.
So if you have your own method for overcoming jet lag, stick with it for now. Science isn't ready to help out the road warrior yet.
Fasting sounds like a bad idea, but eating small amounts often seems to help. And drink lots of water. Yes, that means getting up more often to use the restroom, but getting up and moving around helps too.
Posted by: Sam | June 21, 2009 at 12:45 PM