Pill to combat jet lag being tested
Pill to combat jet lag being tested
A pill to counteract the effects of jet lag is being developed. Scientists in the US are working on the tablet that alters the internal body clock.
Writing in The Lancet medical journal, researchers from the US explain that the drug,
tasimelteon, helps people to adjust their sleeping patterns more easily and could benefit a range of people, including travellers with
jet lag.
Studies carried out in the
US revealed that when subjects went to bed five hours earlier than normal (to replicate crossing into a new
time zone), those taking tasimelteon slept more efficiently than those taking a placebo. Those affected fell asleep quicker and slept up to two hours longer than those on the placebo.
"By simultaneously improving
sleep latency [the time it takes to fall asleep] and sleep maintenance with a shift in circadian rhythms [the body clock], tasimelteon has the potential for the treatment of patients with
transient insomnia...including people affected by jet lag," said Dr Shantha Rajaratnam from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
More research is needed on the drug to make sure that it doesn't have a sedative effect during waking hours. Tasimelteon works on the same receptors in the body as
melatonin, the sleep hormone.
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