Fasting to avoid fatigue when flying

Adjusting the eating time will help travelers escape fatigue after long distance flight.

(Photo: honoluluadvertiser)

Researchers at Harvard University, USA, believe that the brain has a second biological clock that tracks the eating time.

Research on mice shows that when food is scarce, the eating clock overwhelms the main biological clock, helping the animal stay awake until they find food. So those who work night shifts or those who fly long distances will be able to escape from fatigue by not eating anything.

Our daily life cycle, including sleep, behavior and metabolism, is controlled by a major biological clock, located in the brain region called suprachiasmatic nucleus. This disturbance of the circadian rhythm will lead to insomnia, depression, heart disease, cancer and neurological disorders.

This biological clock is very sensitive to daylight. But scientists have found that there is a second clock in the body that is sensitive to our eating cycle.

To understand the relationship between these two clocks, the Harvard University team studied mice that lacked a key gene - Bmal1. By restoring this gene at different parts of the brain, the team found the eating clock in the dorsomedial nucleus region.

In addition, after observing the behavior of the mouse, the group found the eating clock that replaced the main clock, helping the animal stay awake until they had a chance to eat.

Lead researcher Clifford Saper said travelers and night shift workers can take advantage of dining clocks to adapt to changing times that make them tired and unsteady.

"For example, if you go from the US to Japan, you will have to experience a time difference of 11 hours. Because the main biological clock in the body can only move every day a small amount, each person needs It takes about a week to adapt to the new time zone, and then it is time to return home. "

"Fasting for 16 hours is enough to get the watch to eat. So in this case, just don't eat anything on the plane, and then eat immediately when landing, will help you adapt and avoid unpleasant conditions when traveling long distance ".

"It will not make the symptoms go away, but it will make them much more comfortable , " said sleeper Neil Stanley at Norwich University in England.