Advertisement

Jet lag and night shifts can disrupt genes

The lack of sleep or a disrupted sleep cycle led to abnormal gene rhythms, which is commonly seen in the aging process.

By Ananth Baliga

A disrupted sleep-wake cycle as in the case of jet lag and night shifts can disrupt the rhythm of many genes, which then affects biological processes.

This is the reason why many people have a tough time dealing with jet lag, which can cause nausea, anxiety, stomach ailments and memory problems. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that genes either formed their own abnormal cycles or had disrupted cycles, which is commonly seen in the aging process.

Advertisement

Researchers at the University of Surrey observed 22 participants through a 28-hour-day schedule, delaying their sleep-wake cycles by four hours every day. They collected blood samples to measure the effect of these changing sleep cycles on circadian rhythm -- the clock that regulates the transition from day to night and sleep to wakefulness -- of genes.

They found that the number of genes displaying a normal circadian rhythm was six times lower than expected, manifesting in disruptions to the internal biological processes of the body. This included many receptors linked to transcription and translation functions.

“The results suggest that sleep-wake cycles affect molecular mechanisms which are at the core of the generation of circadian rhythms of gene transcription," said lead researcher Derk-Jan Dijk.

Advertisement

The study for the first time showed that genes are affected by these sleep-awake cycles. This supports research conducted last year at the university that showed that even a week of disrupted sleep could affect hundreds of genes.

“Over 97 percent of rhythmic genes became arrhythmic with mistimed sleep and this really underlines why we feel so bad during jet lag, or if we have to work irregular shifts,” said co-author Simon Archer.

[University of Surrey] [PNAS]

Latest Headlines