Melatonin and its relevance to jet lag

Jet lag is a disorder in which body rhythms are out of phase with the environment because of rapid travel across time zones. Although it often produces minor symptoms it can cause serious problems in those who need to make rapid critical decisions including airline pilots and business travelers. In this article the authors review basic knowledge underlying the body clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, and the manner in …