Social jet lag and it’s dangerous consequences

Results show that Social Jet lag which occurs when you go to bed and wake up later on weekends than during the week, is associated with poorer health worse mood and increased sleepiness and fatigue. Each hour of Social Jet Lag also is associated with an 11 percent increase in the likelihood of heart disease. These effects are independent of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms, which are related to both Social Jet Lag and health.

We know that sleep deprivation has consequences such as poorer performance and furthermore we know that chronic Social Jet Lag leads to unhealthy patterns of Nicotine, Caffeine, and alcohol consumption and to an increased BMI.

In this project we are seeking to understand how can we adjust the biological clock do that it is closer to the Social one. If we push the internal clock to an earlier time then the mismatch will be less. Leading to less sleep deprivation. We are implementing new devices of data collection and are using light and the timing of light exposures as our main tools for shifting internal time.