1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

2
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,320
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren boc obam here with another classic episode

3
00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,240
Speaker 1: from our former host, Christian Sagar. This one is for

4
00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,800
Speaker 1: all you jet setters or future jet setters out there.

5
00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,640
Speaker 1: It gets into the details of why we get jet

6
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,560
Speaker 1: lag and how we can prevent it. Hey brain Stuff,

7
00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,880
Speaker 1: I'm Christian Sagar, and today we're going to talk about

8
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,960
Speaker 1: jet lag. I grew up flying back and forth between

9
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,639
Speaker 1: America and Singapore, so I want to share what I

10
00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 1: know about jet lag with you. First of all, jet

11
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,200
Speaker 1: lag occurs when you travel between two or more time

12
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,360
Speaker 1: zones via air travel. And the thing is it disrupts

13
00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:44,280
Speaker 1: your circadian rhythm, your body's natural cycle, and you're sleeping patterns. Now,

14
00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,680
Speaker 1: the circadian rhythm is dictated by the daily appearance of

15
00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,800
Speaker 1: the sun, so light and darkness influence our bodies. But

16
00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:57,480
Speaker 1: when this is disrupted, its official name is desynchronosis. Symptoms

17
00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:03,480
Speaker 1: include insomnia, fatigue, law of concentration, irritability, depression, and even

18
00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,560
Speaker 1: gastro intestinal ills. But look, jet lag or desynchronosis is prevalent.

19
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:16,280
Speaker 1: A study found that of Americans get it and reported

20
00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:21,480
Speaker 1: that their symptoms were severe. So what causes jet lag. Well,

21
00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,680
Speaker 1: there is a whole field that exists to study how

22
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,880
Speaker 1: life is affected by time. It's called chronobiology, and here

23
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,800
Speaker 1: is what it's taught us. First, light triggers a reaction

24
00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: in a special eye pigment. This activates a response in

25
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,959
Speaker 1: the neurons of your brains hypothalamus. The twenty nerve cells

26
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,959
Speaker 1: located there. They're called the super chismatic nucleus, or SCN

27
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,040
Speaker 1: for short, are what starts your body's daily processes and

28
00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 1: also the lack of light causes other developments in your body.

29
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,080
Speaker 1: Circadian rhythm tells you when to sleep and when to wake,

30
00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,800
Speaker 1: and it regulates your body temperature, blood pressure, digestion, urine production,

31
00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,960
Speaker 1: and hormone secretion. So, for example, when it's time to sleep,

32
00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,360
Speaker 1: the SCN releases melotonin and that encourages you to go

33
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,640
Speaker 1: to sleep. When you cross into multiple time zones, though,

34
00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,480
Speaker 1: your body has trouble resetting quickly, and this is worse

35
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:23,560
Speaker 1: when you fly east. This is called phase advance. Flying

36
00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,640
Speaker 1: west is called phase delay. This is because our circadian

37
00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,000
Speaker 1: clock is actually closer to twenty five hours, and going

38
00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,840
Speaker 1: east would require going to bed earlier. A study showed

39
00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,960
Speaker 1: it takes four days to adjust to a twelve hour

40
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:42,600
Speaker 1: phase delay. In comparison, it takes more than eight days

41
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,560
Speaker 1: to adjust to a twelve hour phase advance. And also

42
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,799
Speaker 1: jet lag is worse when you have to awaken when

43
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,440
Speaker 1: your body is still at its minimum temperature. There's also

44
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,799
Speaker 1: research from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies that indicates

45
00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,680
Speaker 1: jet lag is connected to your l h X one gene,

46
00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:07,920
Speaker 1: and this gene regulates neural development in circadian rhythm and sleep. Okay,

47
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,760
Speaker 1: so we've got what causes it. What are the symptoms?

48
00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:12,720
Speaker 1: How do you know if you've got jet lag? Well

49
00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,560
Speaker 1: it's time to talk to Dr Christian. Beyond the insomnia, fatigue,

50
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:21,519
Speaker 1: loss of concentration, irritability, depression, and even gastro intestinal ills,

51
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,880
Speaker 1: there's even more symptoms. It can aggravate menstrual discomfort or

52
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,639
Speaker 1: contribute to the development of heart disease and diabetes. Jet

53
00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,560
Speaker 1: Lag also releases stress hormones, which make you anxious and grumpy.

54
00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,440
Speaker 1: It drives up your blood pressure, It sends inflammation stimulating

55
00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,600
Speaker 1: chemicals to your arteries. It also disrupts your appetite regulating hormones.

56
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 1: It disrupts the release of melotonin, which we mentioned earlier.

57
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,680
Speaker 1: Not only does this affect sleep, but it can also

58
00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:52,360
Speaker 1: protect you from cancer. And finally, research on animals shows

59
00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,640
Speaker 1: that there's other symptoms as well. A study at the

60
00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,040
Speaker 1: University of California found that when subject to jet lag,

61
00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,360
Speaker 1: the brains of amsters created neurons at half their normal rate.

62
00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,160
Speaker 1: They showed memory and learning deficits, and a two thousand

63
00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,560
Speaker 1: six study at the University of Virginia found that younger

64
00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,120
Speaker 1: mice rebounded from jet lag, but making older mice undergo

65
00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,679
Speaker 1: the equivalent of a Washington to Paris flight every week

66
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,760
Speaker 1: would actually increase their death rate. Yeah, that's how big

67
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,520
Speaker 1: it is. Well for mice at least. So we've got

68
00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,359
Speaker 1: what causes jet lag and we have its symptoms. You're wondering,

69
00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,360
Speaker 1: Dr Christian, where are the remedies? How do I fix this?

70
00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 1: You've probably heard of some of the common remedies, like

71
00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,240
Speaker 1: operating on your new time zone before you fly there,

72
00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:43,600
Speaker 1: or wearing yourself out before exercising by exercising. In two

73
00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:49,320
Speaker 1: thousand nine, researchers recommend the following regimen to beat jet lag. First,

74
00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,839
Speaker 1: you readjust your rhythm before the trip by using a

75
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:57,679
Speaker 1: lightbox that simulates daylight. Now, depending on whether you're flying

76
00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,280
Speaker 1: phase advance or phase delay, use the light box either

77
00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,240
Speaker 1: in the morning or the evening to stimulate your circadian rhythm.

78
00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,640
Speaker 1: Another suggestion from the same researchers was to take a

79
00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,880
Speaker 1: melatonin supplement. By changing when you take the doses in

80
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,799
Speaker 1: relation to going to sleep, you can alter your circadian rhythms.

81
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,480
Speaker 1: The c d C actually recommends exercise to a balanced diet,

82
00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,479
Speaker 1: and lots of rest in the weeks before you fly.

83
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,680
Speaker 1: They also recommend avoiding alcohol and caffeine, as well as

84
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:34,680
Speaker 1: drinking water. Finally, they recommend wearing loose, comfortable clothing while

85
00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,640
Speaker 1: you're flying and moving around the cabin. This can help

86
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:42,640
Speaker 1: avoid thrombosis or blood clots, so do not take sleep

87
00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,200
Speaker 1: medication so you can sleep it off in your seat.

88
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:51,159
Speaker 1: Immobilization for long periods can actually raise your risk for thrombosis.

89
00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,000
Speaker 1: In this can actually lead to a stroke. So there

90
00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,560
Speaker 1: you have it. The causes, symptoms, and remedies for jet

91
00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,760
Speaker 1: lay to remember, I'm not a real doctor, I just

92
00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:09,000
Speaker 1: play one on podcasts. Today's episode was written by Christian

93
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,240
Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clain from more on this and

94
00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,120
Speaker 1: lots of other topics. Because it has stuff works dot

95
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,880
Speaker 1: Com brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio. For

96
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,680
Speaker 1: more podcasts, to my heart Radio because the iHeart Radio app,

97
00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,400
Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.