A Big Meal to Beat Jet Lag
Before a long-distance air trip, we've always felt guilty for enjoying a big meal in departure lounges, especially in the middle of the night. But passengers finally have an excuse (eat) their fill because a big meal can help beat jet lag.
It has long been known that darkness prompts the body to feel sleepy by sending signals to a central part in our brain. And in the same way, natural light makes us feel (awake). But scientists also discovered that each of our millions of cells had own tiny sleep pattern which contribute to the body overall they are all taken together. Besides, they found insulin(胰岛素)could kick-start the tiny sleep patterns eachcell and encourage our bodies to change the time at we want to fall asleep.
According to a recent study (conduct) by a group of researchers at Yamaguchi University in Japan, foods which kick-start a big release of insulin, such as carbohydrates, can be crucial to (reset) our body clock when we get out of sync(同步) with our natural cycle.
The study tested the theory on mice which (feed) unusually large meals during the night. Researchers found that insulin was released when the mice ate food high in sugar, and it had an effect on the cells' biological clock.
Dr. Makoto Akashi, the leading researcher of the study, said, "Insulin may help the stomach clock synchronize with mealtime. For example, for jet lag, dinner be enriched with ingredients promoting insulin secretion(分泌), which might bring forward our biological clock. "
