Why drinking coffee can give you jet lag and help you get o...

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/17/why-dr...

Why drinking coffee can give you jet lag

and help you get over it
Caffeine consumed before bedtime delays rise in sleep hormone and rewinds body
clock by nearly an hour, scientists discover
Press Association
Thursday 17 September 2015 07.44BST

Drinking the equivalent of a double espresso three hours before bedtime can turn the
body clock back nearly an hour, replicating the eects of jet lag, scientists have
discovered.
Coee consumed late in the evening resets the internal body clock, which regulates a
host of biological functions and genes, according to a natural day/night cycle. The
evidence suggests that the eects of caeine go much further than simply making it
harder to sleep.
Caeine resets the clock by delaying a rise in the level of melatonin, the bodys chief
sleep hormone. Fluctuating levels of melatonin help determine the natural time to go
to sleep and wake up.
Two teams of British and US scientists carried out a study of volunteers and observed
what happened to individual cells exposed to caeine. Joint lead researcher Dr John
ONeill, from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in
London, said: The eect of caeine on sleep and wakefulness has been long
established, but its impact on the underlying body clock has remained unknown.
These ndings could have important implications for people with circadian sleep
disorders, where their normal 24-hour body clock doesnt work properly, or even help
with getting over jet lag. Our ndings also provide a more complete explanation for
why its harder for some people to sleep if theyve had a coee in the evening
because their internal clockwork thinks that theyre an hour further west.
By understanding the eect caeinated drinks have on our body clock, right down to
the level of individual cells, gives greater insight into how we can inuence our
natural 24-hour cycle, for better or for worse.
Body clock patterns, also known as circadian rhythms, are governed by a master
clock in the brain that governs the release of melatonin. The mechanism, which
synchronises clocks that exist throughout the body down to the level of individual
cells, is governed by exposure to light entering the eye.

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Why drinking coffee can give you jet lag and help you get o...

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/17/why-dr...

Disruption of the body clock, for instance by working shifts or jet lag, is known to
increase the risk of various cancers, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and
neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers.
In the US study, conducted at the University of Colorado, researchers tested the saliva
of ve volunteers to look for signs of rising melatonin. They found that stimulation by
the caeine equivalent of a double espresso three hours before it was time to sleep
delayed the expected melatonin surge by 40 minutes. Caeine and bright light
combined extended the delay to 105 minutes.
To further investigate what was happening, the UK scientists added caeine to
human cells in the laboratory. They found that at the cellular level, caeine could
turn the clock back directly by activating a receptor protein switch found in all cells.
Reducing levels of the switch protein on cell surfaces minimised the caeine-induced
body clock delay. The ndings are reported in the journal Science Translational
Medicine.
Prof Kenneth Wright, from the University of Colorado, said: This is the rst study to
show that caeine, the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world, has an
inuence on the human circadian clock. It also provides new and exciting insights
into the eects of caeine on human physiology.
The results may help explain why caeine-drinking night owls go to bed later and
wake up later and may have implications for treating some circadian sleep-wake
disorders, he added.
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Topics
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Food & drink
Medical research

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