Recent research reveals why the body needs time to recover from jet lag. The latest findings that published in the Cell journal, on August 29, 2013, also identified the targeted of the drugs development that could help people more quickly adjust to the time zone change.
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| Jet lag: By turning the gene off could prevent jet lag, tests on mice indicated. (Picture from: http://sleep.lovetoknow.com/) |
The researchers team led by Stuart Peirson and Russell Foster suggests that, if the activity of the gene was blocked, so the mice will recover faster than the daily disorder of light/dark cycles that designed to simulate jet lag. "We identify a system that actively prevents the body clock to adjust it," Peirson said.
Almost all life forms on the Earth has an internal circadian body clock that keep the body working in 24-hour cycles, adjust a variety of body functions, such as sleeping and eating, with light and dark cycles. When we travel to different time zones, our body clock will adjust to the local time. However, this adjustment could take up to one day for every 60 minutes the body clock shifts. As a result, over the next few days, the body will feel confused and exhausted.
The circadian clock is governed by an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which in turn receives information from a specialised system in the eyes which detects environmental light.
In the research, Peirson test pattern of gene expression in the SCN to a flash of light during the dark period. One of them is the SIK1 molecule, which eliminates the response and acts as a brake to limit the light effect on the body clock. The barrier system for the body to adjust is the buffer mechanism to stabilize the circadian clock because the clock should make sure that it gets a reliable signal.
The circadian clock is governed by an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which in turn receives information from a specialised system in the eyes which detects environmental light.
In the research, Peirson test pattern of gene expression in the SCN to a flash of light during the dark period. One of them is the SIK1 molecule, which eliminates the response and acts as a brake to limit the light effect on the body clock. The barrier system for the body to adjust is the buffer mechanism to stabilize the circadian clock because the clock should make sure that it gets a reliable signal.
"If the signal occurs at the same time for a few days, then the clock considered it may have biological relevance," he said. "This mechanism that slows us to adjust to the new time zone and cause jet lag." *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SCIENCEDAILY | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 4333]
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