Throughout the study a total of 14 people took part and measured their temperature. This allows for diversity of the time zones along with diversity of ages, all ranging from 16-61. Having a diverse age group and traveling time zone difference will allow for a more accurate outcome in regards to the data. When looking at the data before considering the outcomes one must look at the circumstances that face the participants. Results will also vary depending on the amount of time spent flying. The longer one spends flying, the more time zones are crossed over and the better chance of jetlag.
Therefore by having a diverse group of participants flying across the world it allows for better testing of the hypothesis in order to prove its accuracy. The Waking up response The results show that on average the wake up temperature (Table 2) is lower due to the melatonin levels that are excreted during sleeping. In this way before the flights it proves that temperature will be a good measure of the melatonin levels as it is a fact that the melatonin secretion drops your core body temperature to induce sleep according to the National Sleep Foundation (2016).
Before the initial flight the core body temperature of the participants on average dropped to on average 36,1 degrees Celsius. As Melatonin is respondent to light (Edwards & Torcellini, 2002) even with jetlag the body will secrete melatonin into the system in order for people to sleep. This will after flight effect the body functioning depending on time zones and the bodies internal ‘clock’ will be running on the time zone previous to arrival at the destination along with the flight response of the new destination (Salbu, 2011).
In Flight Results When it comes to the results during the flights (Table 2) it shows that on average the temperature did not drop while in flight but this could be due to a number of circumstances. For some the temperature did drop. The temperature of other participants could have been affected by medication, mostly sleeping medication to either not be able to measure temperatures or due to the flight being a day flight and therefore the lights would not have dimmed which causes the secretion of melatonin (Kiessling et al. 2010).
In a comparative study (Figure 5) the average temperature of the participants would during transit and after the long haul flight. In this way it focuses of the hypothesis of it takes between 36 and 48 hours to return to a normal temperature after a long haul flight. By having the temperature overall drop it allows for the hypothesis to be proven. The average temperature drops by 0,1 degree Celsius. A drop in temperature does not have to be massive in order to affect the internal circadian rhythm ‘clock’ as it shows that melatonin is being excreted at the incorrect time period.
A small dosage of melatonin allows for the body to cool and become drowsy/sleepy (Bowen, 2003). Post Flight results and Hypothesis As the hypothesis states it takes between 36 and 48 hours to return to a normal temperature after a long haul flight. This one must look at the results after the flight period in order to see if the hypothesis can be proven correct. On average it is shown that it will potentially take longer than 48 hours for the body to recover from the initial jet lag (Figure 6) as on day one the average temperature was 36,3 degrees Celsius that was the same as the normal average pre flight.
By day two the temperature was also 36,3 degrees Celsius but by day three the average dropped to 36,1 degrees Celsius, which is a decrease by 0,2 of a degree. This shows that overall the jetlag was not affecting everyone by the first two days but on the third day instead of being fully recovered, people were falling into the jetlag and exhaustion. Although it disproves the hypothesis it goes along with the fact that jet lag is an underlying factor and even though there was a delayed effect, the overall response was an effect of the bodies internal circadian rhythms ‘clock’.
Why these results were obtained The condition of jet lag is just the body clock being out of line and with the secretion of melatonin the body will return to its normal systems over a small period of time. When looking at results like this, the average is taken into account the most but when looking at the overall time zone crossed according to the individual participant, majority of the participants crossed a small number of time zones and therefore their jetlag affect is much less than those participants who crossed over multiple time zones.
An extended time of measurement of bodily temperature could have show the actual time taken to result in the body fully adjusting to the time zones and the internal body clock. Although it is shown that in comparison the body temperature did drop (Figure 6; Table 2) it is unknown to what time it takes for readjustment. Negative Feedback Loops The negative feedback loops could have lead the results into having a delayed effect of the jetlag.
As the negative feedback loops are responsible for the stopping of melatonin secretion (The Brain Top to Bottom 2016) the negative feedback loops, being on the wrong body ‘clock’ the body would have had a regulated secretion of the melatonin causing the body to have a normal looking temperature and bodily functioning. By the time that the body started responding to the jetlag (Figure 7), the negative feedback loops would be working at the wrong time of day in order to end the secretion or aid the secretion of the melatonin leading to the internal body ‘clock’ being misaligned.
The full workings of the negative feedback loops could not have been recorded for the hypothesis as the two-day delay on the jetlag average and it would take longer than 48 hours for the body to return to its normal and in this more than 48 hours for the full functioning of the bodies internal clock to return to normal and negative feedback loops to secrete at the appropriate time. Comparison In the National Sleep Foundation (2016) states that on average it takes between two and three days in order for the body to recover completely and return to their normal sleep pattern if the individual is severely sleep deprived.
In contrast to the results shown (Table 2) that are the body starting off as if the body is unaffected by the jet lag and only two days later showing the effect. This is mostly dependant on how many time zones are being crossed. The more time zones the more likely that the jetlag will be respondent immediately after the arrival at the destination. No flights were measured to the west (the Americas) so the total effect of the jetlag could not be measured. However as Reilly (1998) states “the severity of the symptoms may be worse between 2-3 after arrival”.
This may not prove the hypothesis but it does show that the results obtained are accurate as the window period of jetlag where the bodies functioning has not yet realised the time zone shift. Conclusion Overall the research hypothesis did not support the results shown. The overall results of the experiment showed that it takes longer than 48 hours for the body’s internal circadian rhythm ‘clock’. It showed that during the transit the body temperature dropped by 0,1 degrees Celsius (Figure 5) and then following the flight the first period of two days showed a normalization of the results.
After the initial two days the temperature dropped down by 0,1 degrees Celsius in accordance to the jet lag. However the delayed response to the jetlag is seen as normal as when the body lands in the new destination the “window period” (Reilly, 1998) allows for people to be active without the resulting effect of jetlag but after the window period is over the body reduces and collapses under the jetlag effect. When looking at the averages (Table 1) it is shown that different people traveling to the different areas respond differently.
When crossing over more time zones it is shown that some people experienced the jetlag sooner rather than having a window period. As the data extracted was taken from mostly people flying north to south it creates the limitation of not having enough data of more time zones that are crossed. When flying north to south a small difference in time zones of an hour or just over an hour will not be as effective as when crossing a time zone that adds seven or eight hours. The related data may have changed the overall results allowing for a better view of the effect of jetlag.
The participants must be selected specifically for the process as trustful and knowing that the data taken will not be fabricated. Limitations to the study include the study is the measurement of the temperatures. While on the flight some people took sleeping pills are were unable to measure the effects of the melatonin secretion during the flight which could have had an effect on the data as their would not be as many participants measurements taken. This goes along with the taking of measurements is completely relying on the participants to take accurate measurements at the right time.
The timing of the measurements is crucial to the experiment being accurate. A solution to this problem is a rectal thermometer as it is kept on the body at all times. The rectal thermometer is pre set to record data at certain times of day and stores the data within a log. The thermometer is not then constantly relying on the people to take the measurement but does it automatically and accurately. When looking at the results as a comparison to the normal (Figure 6) it is has shown that the normal temperature at wake up and at the end of the day in bed is the same but during the day the bodily temperature dropped by 0,1 degrees Celsius.
This shows that the body’s melatonin levels are increased during the day, which is triggered at the wrong time due to jetlag. For future studies, participants are needed to be flying to all parts f the globe in order to achieve a greater sense of the effects od jetlag. All participants must measure in all allocated times before, during and after the flights at least three times to receive an accurate average. Along with participants must measure the after effects for seven days to fully understand the window effect and the time taken to recover completely.
The qualitative questionnaire must be accurately during the experiment and constantly updated. The aspects of a control thermometer must be checked before the study starts through a calibration. Although the hypothesis was not supported by the results shown, more research shows a window period that would influence the results. The data obtained prove that the melatonin levels are critical to jetlag and the recovery time needed depends on the time zones that are crossed over. Overall the recovery time takes longer than 36-48 hours on average in order for your body’s internal body ‘clock’ and circadian rhythms t return to the normal.
