Written By: Upneet Pansare | Updated : February 21, 2019 9:57 AM IST
Jet lags can be detrimental to your health ©Shutterstock
Do you find it difficult to get over a jet lag? A new research says that doing some exercise can shift the human body clock and help you adjust to the shifted schedules. It is important to note that what time you exercise can make a difference. The study by Arizona State University stated that exercising at 7 am or between 1 and 4 pm advanced the body clock to an earlier time whereas, exercising between 7 and 10 pm delayed the body clock to a later time. Exercising between 1 and 4 am had little effect on the body clock. The study published in the Journal of Physiology could prove useful especially to those people who travel frequently across various time zones. While exercising can prove useful in alleviating the symptoms of jet lag, it is also important to know how jet lag can affect you and have detrimental effects on you.
Liver cancer and liver disease: Did you know that repeated jet lag can increase obesity-related liver disease and the risk of liver cancer? The study by Baylor College of Medicine in the US found that when we constantly travel through different time zones, work night shifts, or push ourselves to stay awake at the regular sleep time, our central circadian clock in the brain becomes chronically disrupted, the researchers said.
Obesity: A study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel found that when there is disruption of the circadian clock during jet lag, it alters the rhythms and composition of the microbial community in the gut, leading to obesity and metabolic problems. Hence people with chronically disturbed day-night cycles due to repetitive jet lag or shift work have a tendency to develop obesity and other metabolic complications,' according to senior study author Eran Elinav.
Cancer: A report on the Daily Mail said that frequent travelling and jet lag could increase your risk of cancer because it tends to disturb our body clocks that are controlled by the same mechanism that causes tumours. The report said that this clearly showed that people's internal body clocks have a major influence on cell multiplication and has the potential to prevent cancer. According to the study published in the journal PLOS Biology, it seems that the clock is likely to act as a tumour suppressor.
Skin problems: Dry skin devoid of moisture and hence accelerated ageing can be a result of frequent jet lags. This is because many who suffer from jet lag usually don t take care of their skin s health and ignore beauty regimen like moisturising which is a must to delay ageing and the appearance of wrinkles.
