The Science of Jet Lag (and how to beat it)

MY PATREON:   / braincraft   And please consider SUBSCRIBING to BrainCraft http://ow.ly/rt5IE (and ring that bell 🧠) Try Skillshare for 2 months, for FREE! 👉 https://skl.sh/braincraft5 My Instagram   / nessyhill   | Twitter   / nessyhill   Music by Epidemic Sound: http://epidemicsound.com/creator NOTES Melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in your brain. While melatonin isn’t very effective for treating general insomnia, it IS good for jet lag. Melatonin was found to be effective for jet lag (in people traveling across five or more time zones) by several placebo-controlled trials: https://www.cochrane.org/CD001520/DEP... More information on melatonin: https://www.med.upenn.edu/cbti/assets... In general, you should avoid alcohol while you’re trying to adjust to a new time zone. While alcohol can help you fall asleep, it interferes with staying asleep and decreases sleep quality. And not getting restful sleep is only going to make jet lag worse. https://www.who.int/ith/mode_of_trave... Caffeine isn’t necessarily bad, as long as you aren’t drinking it within 4-6 hours of bedtime. It might even help you adjust to a new time zone, but only if you’re travelling east – although this isn’t conclusively proven yet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... REFERENCES 📚 It’s generally easier to travel west than east https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream... How jet lag impairs major league baseball performance: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/114... What works for jet lag? A review https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... Circadian Rhythms vs Body Clocks https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/p...