"About 15 percent of human genes are governed by biological clocks. Any disruption to them — whether it’s a flight across time zones that leaves travelers in bright light when their bodies crave sleep, or darkness when their bodies are wide-awake, shift work or even stress — can lead to jet lag or, in extreme cases, potentially lead to the development of serious health problems like obesity and cancer.
What’s new is that we now recognize that we have clocks in every single cell of our bodies and from a physiologic point of view, some people are simply going to be more affected by jet lag because of their genetic or metabolic profile.”
NY Times Article: August 2015:
Jet Lag ‘Cures’ Aplenty, but None That Work for All