Scientists recommend a very strange cure which is bound to cure jet lag: oxygen poverty. Experts have tried some tests on mice, and the results were encouraging. According to a report which got published on October 20 in the Cell Metabolism magazine, it was claimed that if animals breathed with about one-quarter less oxygen than regular, they could adapt to a change of six-hour time difference more quickly. Oxygen is one of the essential substances of our lives. All cells in our bodies need oxygen to produce energy.
- Scientists have conducted a series of test on mice controlling oxygen levels.
- They found out that oxygen deprivation is the answer for jet lag.
A brilliant team of researchers from the University of Bristol in England and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has discovered that they could use oxygen with a different purpose, then the familiar one. Experts could control jet lag by synchronizing our circadian system. This system is responsible for synchronizing our cells with our internal clock. The daily cycle which implies waking up, eating and all sorts of other activities help establishing a certain pace to our clock.
The body temperatures usually drop a little when going to sleep and then it rises back up when you wake up. Researchers unveiled that routine like regulations of the temperatures and eating are products of the oxygen consumption. They develop a study which implied mice and was meant to determine the importance of regulating the circadian system.
Experts have monitored the oxygen levels of mice. After the tests had been taken, scientists noticed that mice tend to consume more oxygen when in the dark, considering the fact that they are nocturnal animals. They were registered to use less oxygen during the day when they are resting. Experts also had cultured mice cells and tested them in labs to check which genes were triggered when exposed to oxygen.
In some dishes containing mice cells, the level of oxygen was kept at a constant level of 8% over a time-span of 24 hours. Other dishes were maintaining an 8% percent level for more than 24 hours. In the end, scientists have analyzed the results and found out that the cells which got exposed to various levels of oxygen had gained a new rhythm.
Another study conducted by the same team was meant to see the results of a jet lag. They mimicked jet lag for mice and revealed that before starting they were breathing 21% oxygen. After a 12-hour change in their circadian system, mice started consuming oxygen with only 16%. Researchers reported that mice adapted to jet lag through oxygen deprivation.
Image source: wikipedia
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