According to study, social jet lag is linked to risk of diabetes and heart disease.
A fresh U.S. research suggests that those who are experiencing jet lag-a health effect caused by different sleep patterns on the weekends than the week days-are said to have more chance of having diabetes and cardio vascular disease.
The study was conducted by examining 450 middle-aged individuals. The participants' sleeping habits were studied and investigated. In order to accurately measure their sleep activities, each of the subjects were tasked to wear tracking devices for seven days.
It was found out that those adults who have the biggest shift of sleeping habits between weekends and weekdays were more associated with health problems compared to those who have consistent sleeping patterns.
The health problems that were associated with the subjects include some symptoms like extra girth around the midsection and also higher levels of sugar and fats found in the blood.
Through an email, Patricia Wong of the University of Pittsburgh stated the reason of having a social jet lag.
"Social jet lag is a habitual form of circadian misalignment, when individuals have to essentially sleep and wake at times that are out of synch from their internal, biological clock and shift back and forth in their sleep schedules due to social obligations," explained by the lead study author.
Wong added that the result of the study does not prove that jet lag causes diabetes and heart disease. According to her, the study just showed the link between social jet lag to health problems.
Those people who were awake more than the night hours, also known as evening chronotypes were more prone to social jet lag. These people, who are likely the younger and poorer, also have the more risk of having a lower HDL cholesterol, as what had been reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
