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Yet More on Jet Lag A recent article on jet lag suggests that jet lag can actually shrink your brain. Summarizing this latest research, which was conducted on women who supposedly show greater negative reactions to jet lag, is not easy because it raises as many questions as it seems to answer. The research, as reported, suggests that women experience some short-term objective memory loss after long periods of continuous jet lag, as would be the case with flight attendants. Unfortunately, the study as it was reported in the popular press does not give complete details. No mention is made of when the MRI scans (the methodology used to measure brain size loss) were made that revealed smaller right temporal lobes. Right after getting off a cross country, or cross-oceanic airplane trip or three days later? There is also no discussion of control groups used in the study. The researcher, Dr. Kwangwook Cho, affiliated with the Department of Anatomy at the University of Bristol in Britain, was quoted as saying "certain short-term objective memory and simple abstract cognition was quite bad." It's very difficult to determine exactly what "quite bad" means. The time as to when the MRI scans were made is extremely important in determining whether a serious long-term problem develops in people who fly across time zones on a regular basis. Certainly everyone who flies experiences some disorientation. The ability to think straight after getting off a single Pacific or Atlantic crossing can be difficult. Lack of sleep can also cause the same disorientation, and many people rarely sleep well on airplanes. Without going back to look at the original research which appeared in Nature Neuroscience, it is difficult to adequately assess this type of research. Yet, it was widely reported throughout the American press. Perhaps part of the reason why it got so much attention was because of its eye catching title, "Researcher Says Jet Lag Causes Brain Shrinkage." Dr. Cho himself says that more research needs to be conducted to determine how long the brain shrinkage of the right temporal lobe remains. This is not to say that there is no price paid for today's Road Warriors. But it might be more reasonable to put this research in context of other factors, such as investigating the health practices of those who travel a great deal and don't show long-term negative impact. Today's traveller doesn't have to be told about the short-term impact of spending the day awake in Europe when it is night time in the United States. Scare articles such as this one, incompletely reported, be the real danger! Janelle Barlow,
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