Listen to Your Body Clock

The clock is controlled by a tiny pea-sized organ in the brain called Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, or SCN. This group of cells command the chain of chemical and nervous in-structions that ripple through the body, controlling how each organ and tissue functions over the 24- hour day.Within the cells, sci-entistsdetectedgenesthat switched on and off over a 24-hour pe-riod.

This cycle hastwoeffects: first, tosendelectri-cal pulses into the nervous system, andsecond,toreleasehormones. Any damage to this part of the brain can lead to both short-term andlong-termnegativeeffects.

JET LAG

A common example of a short-term disruption is jet lag. This happens when the body clock, used to a fixed rhythm of daylight and darkness, is thrown out of gear due to time differences across longitudes. The body8217;s natural pattern gets upset as the rhythm that determines when you should eat, sleep and wake up does not correspond with the outside envi-ronment.

The symptoms of jet lag include dehydration, loss of ap-petite, fatigue, grogginess and irri-tability. The best way to reduce the period of suffering is to control your exposure to light, both inside and outside the aircraft.

SLEEP DISORDERS

It8217;s the inability to sleep and/or to remain asleep adequately. Psychia-trist Dr Gopa Bharadwaj says dis-turbed sleep can affect the mind, causing depression, anxiety, ten- sion, loss of concentration and tem-porary detachment from reality. It can also lead to irritability, hostile or defiant behaviour, says Dr Jitendra Nagpal of Vimhans in Delhi.

As darkness descends, thebody clockrecognisesthatlight is dimin-ishing, and it shuts down the pro-duction of serotonin, adrenaline, cortisol and other active hor-mones. When,becauseof extrane-ousfactors, werefusetosleepatthe above-mentioned stage, the body clock is thrown out of rhythm. Dr Nagpal even warns of 8220;enduring personality changes8221;, due to dis-ruptionsinthesleep/ wakecycle.

OBESITY AND DIABETES

Two of the most widely spread dis-eases of modern times count among its causes the dysfunc-tional body clock. With its con-trol over the metabo- lism process sleep and appetite being connected at molecular and behavioural levels the 8216;timepiece8217; can wreak havoc within the body. Lack of sleep develops a reduced glucose tolerance, which means blood sugar levels take longer to get back to normal after eating.

HEART DISEASES

Dr T.S. Kler, a heart surgeon with Delhi8217;s Escorts Heart Institute, says disturbing the body clock causes tremendous biological stress. He warns that heart attacks mostly oc-cur during the mornings when blood pressure is at its highest.

Likewise, the risk of having a stroke increases. Some, known as cerebral infarctions, are 49 per cent more likely to strike between 6 am and noon. Therefore, doctors time medication for their patients keeping the body clock in mind. Is it possible to alter the body clock? Dr Kler says there8217;s no evi-dence to showthat the body clock can be reset artificially. So what if you meet deadlines and go strictly by the clock? Are you also listening to the one insideyou?

FIGHTING JET LAG

Your body clock

Deep in the brain, there is a 24- hour master clock governing every aspect of the body8217;s func-tioning.

Called the Circadian

Clock, it synchronises the inter-nal systems so that they function smoothly with each other and with the external world.

Crossing time zones

This confuses the body clock because it has to adjust to a new time and new patterns of light and activity. To make matters worse, not all internal body functions adjust at the same rate. So your sleep/wake cycle may adjust more quickly than your temperature. Your diges-tion may be on yet another schedule. Confusing the clock like this causes the mental and physical upset we call jet lag.

Go west

Though the body clock has diffi-culty adjusting to time zone travel, it prefers flying in an east to west direction. This is because although we live in a 24-hour day, the natural rhythm of our clock is programmed to operate on a day that is longer than 24 hours. Our internal clock can extend our day but it finds it very difficult to reduce the hours in our day. So, when flying west you are adding hours and going in the natural direction of your internal clock.

Managing stress

Because it can take the body clock anything from several days to several weeks to fully adjust to a new time zone, it may be less disruptive to keep yourself on your home time schedule if you are only going to be away from home for a short time about 48 hours or less.

If your trip is going to be longer, you should start to adjust to your new time zone as soon as you board the plane.

How to keep your home time

8226; Calculate the difference between your home time and the time at your destination. Consider when you normally would be asleep and awake at your home compared to the time at the new destination.

8226; Make a note of the destination times that correspond with times when your body clock would be at maximum sleepi-ness at home.

8226; Try to avoid important busi-ness meetings scheduled at the times of maximum sleepi-ness at home.

8226; Try not to be in the light at your destination if you would normally be in darkness at home. You can do this by stay-ing indoors or wearing sun-glasses when you go out.

8226; Try to eat on home time. So if it is dinner time at your desti-nation, but breakfast on your home time, try to have something light, rather than a full heavy dinner that your stomach may not be ready to digest well.