New research led by the University of Oxford in the UK suggests it may be possible to speed up recovery from jet lag by targeting a mechanism that prevents the body clock adjusting quickly to changes in patterns of light and dark.
Working on mice, they found a protein called SIK1 acts as a buffer or brake to limit the effect of light on the body clock. When they blocked the activity of the protein, the mice adjusted faster to changes in their light/dark cycle.
One of the team leaders, Dr. Stuart Peirson from Oxford's Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, says they found a mechanism that "actively prevents the body clock from re-adjusting," and explains it makes sense to have such a system because it keeps the body clock stable:
"The clock needs to be sure that it is getting a reliable signal, and if the signal occurs at the same time over several days it probably has biological relevance. But it is this same buffering mechanism that slows down our ability to adjust to a new time zone and causes jet lag."
The study, which was funded by the Wellcome Trust and F. Hoffmann La Roche, was published online in the journal Cell on August 29th.
Body clock synchronizes rhythm of life
Nearly all living things have an internal body clock that syncs their biology to a 24-hour cycle, ensuring functions like sleeping and eating are correctly tuned to daily patterns of light and dark.
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