Exercise can help you tackle jet lag issues, new study finds

Exercise is the best way to cope with jet lag, according to a new study. Researchers have found physical activity can shift the human body clock, which allows you to adjust to the change in schedule.

The study was conducted by a team from Arizona State University. The body clock of 101 participants was examined for close to five-and-a-half days. Urine samples were also provided every 90 minutes so researchers could measure the rise in melatonin in the evening, as well as the peak in melatonin later in the night.

The results showed working out at 7 a.m or between 1 and 4 p.m helped advance the body clock to an earlier time. However, working between 7 p.m and 10 p.m delayed the body clock to a much later time. There was little change to the body clock if participants exercised between 4 a.m and 10 a.m. The effects also did not change based on gender or age. This could also help people working different shifts or other jobs that can disrupt the body’s internal clock.

“Exercise has been known to cause changes to our body clock. We were able to clearly show in this study when exercise delays the body clock and when it advances it,” lead author Shawn Youngstedt told a news portal. Adding, “This is the first study to compare exercise’s effects on the body clock, and could open up the possibility of using exercise to help counter the negative effects of jet lag and shift work.”

The findings were originally published in The Journal of Physiology.