Reducing oxygen levels on a plane ‘helps reset the body clock and eradicates the misery of jet lag’

REDUCING oxygen levels in an aeroplane cabin could help combat jet lag, a study suggests.

Travelling between time zones can leave people feeling tired, dizzy and sick as they struggle to sleep and readjust to new daylight hours.

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But researchers say lowering oxygen levels in the air we breathe may aid recovery after the move proved effective in mice.

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Israel, first left mice to eat, sleep and run on their wheels in air-controlled environments.

It was extremely exciting to see that even small changes in oxygen levels were sufficient to efficiently reset the body clock

Gad Asher, Weizmann Institute of Science

They then subjected them to a six-hour jump ahead in daylight hours and recorded the time taken for them to readjust their eating, sleeping and running habits.

Those exposed to a constant oxygen level took an average of 7.4 days to adapt.

But those whose oxygen levels were reduced by a few per cent for 12 hours prior to the change in lighting schedule took two days less, the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, reports.

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Commercial airliners currently pressurise cabins to the same air density as a city 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level.

This low-pressure saves wear and tear on the aeroplane but the low oxygen levels leave some passengers suffering from air sickness.

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Airlines are now considering ways to increase the pressure on flight to help people feel better.

And the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been designed so it can be pressurised to the equivalent of lower altitudes for this reason.

But the study suggests there may be a trade-off between in-flight wellbeing and jet lag recovery times.

Lead researcher Gad Asher said: “We propose oxygen modulation as therapy for jet lag.

“It was extremely exciting to see that even small changes in oxygen levels were sufficient to efficiently reset the body clock.”