Woke up in a new time zone, but your brain stayed home?
You’re not alone. Each year, more than 100 million people experience jet lag — a temporary sleep disorder that occurs when rapid long-distance travel disrupts the body’s internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm.
That mismatch can trigger a wide range of symptoms as the body works to adjust to its new local time, including sleep disruption, brain fog, headaches, extreme fatigue, mood changes and general misery.
But relief may be coming.
Japanese scientists say they’ve created a drug that can “reset” the internal clock forward, dramatically shortening jet lag recovery time in mice — and perhaps, eventually, in humans.
Such a treatment could be a game-changer for frequent long-haul travelers and for people who work night shifts or rotating schedules, who often endure a chronic form of jet lag due to irregular sleep-wake cycles.
In the study, researchers highlighted a new oral compound called Mic-628.
The drug works by activating a key internal clock gene known as Per1. It does this by binding to CRY1, a protein that normally suppresses Per1, allowing the gene to become active.
The result is a forward shift of the circadian rhythm not only in the brain’s master clock, but also in the thousands of peripheral clocks found in nearly every cell, tissue and organ throughout the body.
These peripheral clocks regulate everything from metabolism and sleep cycles to hormones, cellular maintenance and daily variations in body temperature and blood pressure.
When tested in mice, a single oral dose of Mic-628 realigned circadian rhythms in just four days, compared with seven days in untreated mice.
The findings suggest the compound may serve as a prototype “smart drug” for managing jet lag or shift work.
This could be especially useful for eastward travel, which requires advancing the internal clock — a process that normally takes longer and is physiologically harder than delaying it, as occurs with westward travel.
Notably, the compound advanced the circadian clock regardless of when it was administered.
That “time-independent” effect is significant, since existing interventions like light therapy or melatonin are highly timing-dependent and often produce inconsistent results.
“These findings underscore the potential of selective Per expression as a therapeutic approach for human circadian rhythm disorders,” the study authors wrote in PNAS.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to investigate Mic-628’s safety and effectiveness in further animal and human studies.
It is a breakthrough that couldn’t come soon enough.
Jet lag is typically short-lived, resolving within a few days once the body’s circadian rhythm adjusts.
However, studies have shown that the fear or anticipation of jet lag’s discomfort can cause people to avoid traveling, particularly to destinations that require crossing multiple time zones.
For frequent long-haul flyers — including pilots, flight attendants and business travelers — as well as workers with irregular schedules, jet lag can become chronic and lead to complications, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
When the circadian rhythm is consistently out of sync, it can contribute to sleep disorders such as insomnia and may also increase the risk of health problems including depression, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
While you wait for science to catch up, experts say there are a few steps you can take to prevent or lessen the impacts of jet lag.
That includes shifting your bedtime a few days before traveling, skipping meals during the flight, limiting alcohol intake on board, avoiding naps after landing and getting in some light exercise once you arrive.
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