Depression linked to internal jet lag study finds
Circadian rhythms controlling sleep were out of sync in a quarter of young people with depression in this Sydney-based study. Read more
sydney.edu.au
Nearly a quarter of young Australians seeking mental health care in a Sydney study showed signs of “internal jet lag” – their core body temperature, melatonin and cortisol rhythms were out of sync even though they hadn’t crossed time zones. Researchers led by Dr Joanne Carpenter and Prof Ian Hickie monitored 69 clinic patients against a healthy group overnight in a chronobiology lab and found 23 percent had at least two circadian markers misaligned.
What’s more, the degree of misalignment tracked with how severe their depressive symptoms were. While this one‐night snapshot doesn’t prove internal jet lag causes mood disorders, it’s the first time these three key body-clock measures have been combined, and it hints that targeting circadian rhythms (think light therapy or sleep scheduling) could become a new tool in treating depression and bipolar in young people.
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