Our "internal clock" is predicted to shift more rapidly than previously thought. In a study published in PLOS Computational Biology on April 10th, researchers present schedules of light exposure that may shift our circadian clock in the minimum time, simply by adjusting the timing of the beginning and end of each day.
The authors calculated optimal schedules for thousands of different situations, and condensed their findings into four general principles of optimal circadian shifting.
"Overcoming jetlag is fundamentally a math problem and we've calculated the optimal way of doing it," said study author Danny Forger, of the University of Michigan, USA. "We're certainly not the first people to offer advice about this, but our predictions show the mathematically best and quickest ways to adjust across time zones."
The schedules presented are simple to follow, in that they involve only a single daily light exposure, and that they are predicted to produce the same results even in the presence of unpredictable factors.
The work could provide insights to help improve the health and quality of life for pilots and flight attendants as well as shift workers, which make up more than 10 percent of the American workforce.
Based on their findings, the authors have created an app, 'Entrain', which is available for free via the Apple store.
Financial disclosure This work was supported by AFOSR grant FA9550-11-1-0165 and internal funds from the University of Michigan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Serkh K, Forger DB (2014) Optimal Schedules of Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian Misalignment. PLoS Comput Biol 10(3): e1003523.doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003523
Please add this link to the freely available article in online versions of your report (the link will go live when the embargo ends): http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003523
Contact
Name: Daniel Forger
Institution: University of Michigan
Department: Mathematics
Address: Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, UNITED STATES
Phone: (734) 763-4544
Email: forger@umich.edu
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