Social Jetlag- an Exhausting condition

Social Jetlag- an Exhausting condition

 

As usual in daily routine I took my newspaper- Times of India and I love to read its supplements; Bombay times and Mumbai Mirror. I was reading Bombay Times and suddenly found an interesting article on “Social Jetlag”. The first question came in my mind what is Social Jetlag? I was aware of a jet lag that we normally get when we travel different time zones.

I read the article and to explore on the topic I started reading previous publication and thought of writing my next blog on this.

Unlike a jet lag that you normally get when you travel different time zones, a social jet lag is the chronic clash between what your body needs (sleep) and what your life demands (work or activity). And this plays havoc on your everyday life.The term "Social Jetlag" was initially coined in 2006 by researchers studying the ways in which social schedule get mess with our natural rhythm. Unlike a jet lag which you normally get while you travel in different  time zones, a social jet lag is chronic clash between what your body needs (sleep) and what your life demands (work and activities). And this pays havoc in your routine life.

Many of us stay up later than usual on Friday and Saturday nights, whether out partying, gossiping or watching movies. We feel it’s OK because we can just make up for the lost sleep in the morning.
But it turns out sleeping in on weekends could be causing disorder with your body clock: it’s called social jet lag.  
 An Important difference in between Travel Jet lag and Social Jet lag is that travel jet lag is lighter in intensity. When we arrive in a different place, the sun is coming up and setting at different time and your body can reset its own clock to match. With Social jet lag, the schedule disruption is chronic a person staying in the same place.

According to researchers, over the past few decades, people have been experiencing the problem of social jet lag because of the constant work pressure, going off to bed late at night, yet waking up at the normal time, thus losing out on approximately 40 minutes of sleeAccording to recent researches, in last few decades people are facing problem of social jet lag because of constant work pressure, going late to bed for sleep, getting up early or normal to complete the tasks (personal and professional) and losing out 1-2 hrs. of sleep.

Dr Patricia Wong of the University of Pittsburgh, lead author of the study, told Reuters: ‘Social jet lag is a habitual form of circadian misalignment, when individuals have to essentially sleep and wake at times that are out of sync from their internal, biological clock and shift back and forth in their sleep schedules due to social obligations.’

"Sleep plays an important role both in the physiological and psychological development of an individual's body," says sleep expert Dr Preeti Devnani. "Our body has a preferred time for sleep and activity, which when hampered, causes various changes in your body," she adds.
A disrupted sleep schedule can increase your risk of Diabetes and heart diseases, a new study revealed.
The most recent research, published as an abstract supplement in the journal Sleep, concluded that “Social Jet lag is associated with poorer health, heart diseases, worse mood, obesity and increased sleeplessness and fatigue”. So, those who are already at risk for heart disease, diabetes and even depression are not doing themselves any favor with irregular sleep schedules.

Hope you liked the above article and try to maintain your schedule throughout the week and be healthy!!

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Benjamin Franklin

Be happy and Stay Healthy!!