Daily HealthBeat Tip

Who wants jet lag?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Jet lag. Who needs it? Sleep researcher Charmane Eastman at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago offers a way to avoid it – going east, when jet lag is worst.

Her study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Eastman used a light box that makes cells in the eye trick the sleep-wake cyle into acting like it’s bright daylight – and point-five-milligram melatonin pills, which also work on the cycle.

So: For each time zone crossed, go to bed an hour earlier each day, taking the pill first. Wake up an hour earlier and be before the light box at least a half hour.

Can she vouch for this?

"Of course! What kind of a so-called researcher would I be if I went somewhere and ended up with jet lag?" (six seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 18, 2005

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