can mathematics overcome jet lag

8/9/2019 Can Mathematics Overcome Jet Lag

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Can Mathematics Overcome Jet

lag?

Nicole Casal Moore

We all know what jet lag feels like. But is it really. Doctors

tell us a major cause of jet lag is the resynchronization of the body’s internal clock and the local environment whena person travels across several time zones. Symptomsinclude trouble sleeping at night and trouble stayingawake during the day.



Now reducing jet lag is the aim of a new mathematicalmethodology and software program developed byresearchers at the University of Michigan and Brighamand Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The new methodology and software program helps usersresynchronize their internal clocks with the local timeusing light cues. The software program gives users exacttimes of the day when they should applycountermeasures such as bright light to intervene in thenormal course of jet lag.

The findings were published in the June 19 issue of PLoS

Computational Biology.“This work shows how interventions can cut by half thenumber of days needed to adjust to a new time zone,”says Daniel Forger, an assistant professor of mathematicsand a research assistant professor in the Department of Computational Medicine and Biology at the U-M MedicalSchool. Forger is an author of the paper.

Timed light exposure is a well-known method forsynching an individual’s internal clock with theenvironment, and when used properly, this interventioncan reset that clock to align with local time. This results inmore efficient sleep, a decrease in fatigue, and anincrease in cognitive performance. Poorly timed lightexposure can prolong the re-synchronization process.

“Because the timing of proper light exposure is so

important in synching the internal clock with local time,we have developed this mathematical computation that isable to automate the process of determining the timing of appropriate light cues,” says Dennis Dean, a researcherin the Division of Sleep Medicine at BWH and the paper’slead author.



Using the computation, researchers simulated shiftingsleep and wake schedules and the subsequent lightinterventions for realigning internal clocks with localtimes. They found that the mathematical computation

resulted in quicker design of schedules and alsopredictions of substantial performance improvements.

“Using this computation in a prototyped softwareapplication allows a user to estimate background lightlevel and the number of time zones traveled to determinethe recommendation of when to expose a subject tobright light, such as the bright light sometimes used totreat Season Affective Disorder, to realign the internalbody clock,” Dean says..Although this method is not yet available to the public, ithas direct implications for designing jet lag, shift-workand scheduling for extreme environments, such as inspace, undersea or the Polar Regions, he says.

This is a practical way to combat jet lag, which can be a

significant problem, Forger says. “There are a lot of situations in which being alert and not falling asleep atthe wrong time is critical. Imagine you’re a military pilot,for example. You want to be at your optimal performancebecause mistakes can have huge consequences,” Forgersays.

The next phase of this research includes the addition of interventions such as naps, caffeine and melatonin to

help the process of realigning the internal body clockwhile reducing decreased performance experiencedduring travel across time zones.

Nicole Casal Moore writes for the U-M News Service.

can mathematics overcome jet lag

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