Your energy levels are a delicate thing, particularly from a scientific perspective. Operating at our best is a balance of sleeping, eating, exercising, resting, and working in the right ways, and at the right times. But knowing when’s the right time requires a knowledge of how we, as living beings, work. And that requires an understanding of circadian rhythms.
According to research from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, our circadian rhythms are controlled by internal biological clocks, which act as an organism’s natural scheduling devices. Nearly every tissue and organ in living beings contain biological clocks—whether you’re a human, mouse, fruit fly, puppy, or mushroom. And those biological clocks act as the command center for the functions that our circadian rhythms control, like our sleep-wake cycle, mood, performance patterns, metabolism, immune and reproductive systems, and even the expression of many genes.
Prior to the 1950s, none of this was necessary common knowledge for the average person. Our biological clocks have been evolving to perfect our routines for millennia, gathering information on when it’s light, when it’s dark, when food is available, when it’s not, when our surroundings are safe, when they’re not, and a myriad of other environmental circumstances that inform how we should act to live best. Pre-history, Homo erectus began waking up at dawn and traveling to river banks and lakesides in the forest in the early morning to hunt animals as they emerged from the forest to drink water (as those animals’ circadian rhythms directed them to do, as well). This survival tactic of early humans evolved due to being on a planet with a strong light-dark cycle and was marked with physical and mental exertion, thus increasing the release of stress hormones like catecholamines and cortisol earlier in the day. But for the most part, we didn’t think too much about this as the morning hunting routine morphed into the brewing of coffee, the toasting of bread, and the daily commute to the office, although we are starting to understand the negative impact of work schedules that run counter to our internal clocks, especially in more extreme schedules experienced by shift workers.
A new but similar problem emerged with the arrival of the Jet Age. In December 1957, the first commercial passenger plane embarked on its maiden flight, marking the beginning of the civilian jet age in earnest. Between 1955 and 1972, commercial jet airplanes made flying more affordable and efficient, allowing passenger numbers on commercial flights to increase more than 400 percent. But with the ability to slingshot ourselves across oceans and between continents at otherwise-inhuman speeds, a new problem emerged: jet lag.
“There’s no such thing as ‘ship lag,’” states Dr. Steven Lockley, an Associate Professor in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, international authority on circadian rhythms and sleep, and Chief Scientist at Timeshifter. “The light-dark cycle is about as consistent a time cue as you could possibly get day-to-day. It's an absolute rock-solid signal to our biology. But in our modern world, we've started to mess that up by traveling across time zones too quickly for our circadian clock to keep up. This daily cycle is so fundamental to our biology, that if we mess it up, bad things happen to our productivity, safety, and health.”
Our bodies simply cannot accommodate our relatively newfound ability to speed into new time zones, making circadian disruption—and the negative effects of it—inevitable. The good news: the consequences of discombobulating our circadian rhythms are inconvenient enough to modern life that learning how to alleviate jet lag has opened up the scientific doors to better understand how our bodies work and how we can adapt our age-old biorhythms to the demands of modern routines.
That research has led to circadian technology pioneer Timeshifter and some breakthrough solutions: carefully crafted circadian plans to help astronauts prepare for rocket launches and to control their day-night cycle when living aboard the International Space Station; a revolutionary app to help shift workers adapt to changing schedules; and a jet lag app for anyone who is traveling and wants to adjust to a new time zone quicker.
From just a few details, Timeshifter uses a complex algorithm developed with world-renowned scientists and researchers to customize plans for users based on their normal sleep patterns, flight details, and chronotype (whether you are an ‘early bird’ or a ‘night owl’). Each personalized circadian plan includes practical instructions on when you should prioritize exposure to bright light or avoid it, a sleep and napping schedule, and optional advice on how to optimize caffeine intake for alertness and melatonin for sleep.
“When you reset the central circadian clock, everything the clock controls realigns,” Lockley says. “Your sleep, mood, concentration, appetite, and ability to have social interactions—everything lines up, both internally and with the new time zone.”
In short, using Timeshifter actually allows the user to take control of their energy, sleep, and productivity by addressing it at the source. Circadian rhythms are governed by environmental time (a.k.a., light) and cannot be reset by the many antidotes we see regularly credited as a cure, like massage, sleeping pills, caffeine, exercise, food, acupuncture, and the like, as none of these reset the circadian clock. By understanding when and how to utilize timed exposure to and avoidance of light (still our bodies’ number-one cue for most functions), users can effectively correct the underlying circadian disruption that travel can cause in our bodies.
Research shows that supporting the body’s circadian rhythms long-term translates to real benefits and reduces the risk of many chronic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, some cancers, heart disease, and depression all of which can disturb our natural cycles.
It sounds complicated, and that’s because it is, and it can be hard to work out how to tackle jet lag on your own. But taking a step to better understand how to improve your health and doing so is a bit simpler now thanks to scientists like Lockley who have taken the guesswork out of resetting your circadian rhythms when you travel. And it’s never been simpler to try Timeshifter. In fact, United MileagePlus cardmembers are eligible for a limited time 50% discount off an annual Timeshifter subscription by visiting https://chase.timeshifter.com now through June 30, 2023. For more information about the United Family of Cards from Chase or to apply for a card,* visit here.
With tools like Timeshifter and the science of circadian rhythm optimization, there’s a whole new opportunity to “protect your energy” this year.
This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for the United Family of Cards from Chase.
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