A late breakfast could help beat holiday jet lag

BEATING jet lag could be as simple as eating breakfast five hours later than usual.

Scientists found that changing mealtimes can trick your body clock into changing time zone more quickly.

Every hour later someone sits down for a meal delays their blood sugar rhythms by the same amount of time, a study has found.

The insight could cut jetlag recovery time in half. Holidaymakers are currently advised to get more light in the evening or take a pill containing ‘sunshine chemical’ melatonin.

Co-author Dr Jonathan Johnston, from the University of Surrey, said: ‘Our study suggests that delaying mealtimes or eating earlier could help reset these clocks and cut the amount of time jet lag lasts.

‘On average people take about a week to recover from some long-haul journeys, and we think meal times may help recovery, possibly making it pass twice as fast.’

The research team gave ten healthy male volunteers three meals a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – the first 30 minutes after waking and then at five-hour intervals. Next, meals were delayed by five hours.

The researchers found no effect on insulin or fat levels in the blood.

But blood glucose rhythms also fell five hours later, which is important for body clocks.

Jet lag happens when peripheral clocks, found in various organs and tissue, fail to sync up with the master clock in the brain. The findings suggest eating at different times can make them do this more rapidly.

Dr Johnston said: ‘These findings suggest they should delay their meals by a few hours and eat them later in the two days before they fly.’

The findings are most likely to affect people who take constant long-haul flights or work night shifts.

The study, published in the journal Cell Biology, offers a drug-free solution for them.