Dealing with jet lag can be a task. The persistent headache, nausea and the discomfort can ruin your day. Doing some exercise may shift the human body clock and help you adjust to the shifted schedules. Exercising may also help shift-based workers cope better with all the fatigue and discomfort, says a latest study published in The Journal of Physiology. The study was conducted by a group of researchers the Arizona State University.
The findings revealed that exercise can shift the human body clock with the direction and amount of this effect depending on the time of day or night in which people exercise.
Researchers explained that exercising at 7 a.m. or between 1 and 4 p.m. helped advance the body clock to an earlier time, while exercising between 7 and 10 p.m. delayed the body clock to a later time.
Exercising between 1 and 4 a.m. and at 10 a.m., was shown to have very little effect on the body clock. It must also be noted that the phase-shifting effects of exercise did not differ based on age or gender.
“Exercise has been known to cause changes to our body clock. We were able to clearly show in this study when exercise delays the body clock and when it advances it,” said lead author Shawn Youngstedt, from the varsity.
“This is the first study to compare exercise’s effects on the body clock, and could open up the possibility of using exercise to help counter the negative effects of jet lag and shift work.”
Exercising could counter the effects of jet lag, shift work, and other factors that generally disrupt body clock, for example military deployments. It is a natural and safe way to adjust to shifted schedules said the researchers.
Researchers examined body clocks following exercise in 101 participants for up to five-and-a-half days.
The baseline timing of each participant’s body clock was determined from urine samples collected every 90 minutes to measure the time of the evening rise in melatonin and the peak of melatonin several hours later.
Foods To Cope With Jet Lag
Believe it or not, but your diet could help alleviate jet lag symptoms in a big way. According to experts, our body is acclimatized into receiving nutrition according to a certain time zone. Now with the change in time zones our body is not able to adapt to the new cycle so soon. Therefore you must eat right foods to make sure your body adjusts to the transition and digest food eaten at this new, ‘odd’ time. You may also lose appetite due to jet lag, instances of lethargy and fatigue are also common, but you must make sure your nutritional requirements are met with.
Here are some foods that are known to help you cope with symptoms of jet lag better:
1. Lemon: Lemon water may help alleviate jet lag. Lemon’s active antioxidants have the ability to rejuvenate you from within, it also helpful in hydrating and alkalise the body, and help you adjust to the new cycle soon.
2. Banana: Bananas are packed with tryptophan, which helps increase the serotonin in your body that helps calm your nerves and fix your sleeping schedule.
3. Ginger: Ginger is very helpful in combating feelings of nausea and indigestion. You can chew into a slice of it or brew a fresh ginger tea for yourself.
4. Goji berries: Jet lag takes a severe toll on your sleep, goji berries are helpful in improving the quality of your sleep. Make sure you do not eat more than 10 of them in a day.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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