If you're excited about your upcoming spring break plans but anticipate experiencing jet lag, don't worry. A new study suggests jet lag may actually be good for your brain. The new study, published in the journal Cell Reports, suggests that a little (temporary) brain stress, combined with disruption of the body clock, may help protect the brain from stress. Researchers say that while you don't want to disrupt your sleep patterns on a regular basis, brief, temporary interruptions may have some protective effects.
It is not uncommon for patients with neurodegenerative diseases to have severe disruptions to their sleep-wake cycles, such as insomnia or needing too much sleep. Persistent circadian rhythm disruption can lead to increased stress levels and decreased overall quality of life in these patients, according to the study's press release. To investigate how the circadian clock contributes to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, the study's authors examined the genes that regulate it. For the purposes of the study, the researchers induced jet lag in fruit flies and found that it protected neurons in the flies' brains.
Fredrick Kunkle of The Washington Post says that fruit fly brains adapt to circadian rhythms in a similar way to humans. To simulate the typical travel-induced jet lag in fruit flies, the researchers put them into a 20-hour interrupted sleep-wake cycle. According to the findings, jet lag may enhance the brain's neural pathways in some key ways and delay the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, Kunkel wrote.
"It may seem counterintuitive, but we show that a little stress can be beneficial," lead study author Ravi Arada, Ph.D., an expert on circadian rhythms at Northwestern University, said in a press release. "We cleverly manipulated the circadian clock and this stress appears to be neuroprotective."
"We have long known that disruption of the circadian clock is an early indicator of neurodegenerative diseases," Allada said. "In many cases, sleep disruption precedes any other symptoms. But we don't know whether circadian rhythm disruption is a cause or a consequence of the disease." Allada expects jet lag to be harmful to the brain, and he said the findings are surprising, according to the release. People are surprised. "We wanted to know if the clock plays a role in this disease," he said. "It turns out that clocks are important—but in ways we didn't expect." Allada plans to advance this study further as the next step in studying Alzheimer's disease so that researchers can better understand how to more comprehensively Slowing the progression of different neurodegenerative diseases.
While this research sounds promising, you and I both know that jet lag feels terrible, despite the potential benefits. If jet lag is affecting your vacation plans, there are a few things you can do that may help. If you're just taking a quick trip for a few days but across time zones, try to avoid disrupting your normal schedule - even if it means keeping odd hours while you're away. Other tips for overcoming jet lag include synchronizing your sleep and meal times with your long-distance destination and adjusting your schedule in advance. Staying hydrated can also help reduce the effects of jet lag.
If you can't quite shake off the effects of jet lag while traveling, don't worry; temporary circadian stress may be good for your brain in the long run.
