Memorandum by the Research Institute for
Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University
1. Progress in research into the priority
areas identified by the Committee in 2000:
Our research at Liverpool John Moores University
(Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences) has focused
on:
— the phenonmenon of jet lag,
and methods of accelerating adjustment of the body clock to
the new time zone; and
— factors affecting choice of
foods and subjective responses to food served on board long-haul
flights.
2. A list of publications is appended. In
a number of these publications, the House of Lords report has
been referenced, as it provided the stimulus for some of this
research work.
3. Progress made by the airline industry
and information supplied to travellers:
— There have been small but perceptible
improvements in attention to travellers. Water is offered more
systematically on long-haul flights. In-flight entertainment is
individualised to provide a more comfortable flight experience.
Ear plugs are provided to all passengers by the major carriers.
There is little change in the space available to individual passengers
and it seems that a cramped posture is more or less accepted as
a corollary of travelling, especially for those in higher percentile
anthropometric groups. Pre-flight advice about seating space is
not usually provided;
— Information on coping with jet-lag
and preventing deep-vein thrombosis is not overtly provided. Flight
magazines may contain illustrations of recommended exercises but
these are not sufficiently promoted to be taken up by passengers.
What is needed is advice similar to that provided for safety,
after boarding or at check-in (there are more fatalities from
deep-vein thrombosis than from emergencies);
— The airport environment has
been the subject of a recent initiative of the American College
of Sports Medicince. A symposium on "jet stress" at
its Annual Conference (2007) considered how to promote health-related
behaviour among travellers eg walking around the airport rather
than snacking. A Working Group of the College is active in this
project but its impact on lifestyle changes is likely to be marginal,
if at all, and has questionable acute consequence for travellers;
— The phenomenon of jet-lag and
the risk of deep-vein thromboses are now unequivocally accepted
by the airline industry. This was not so prior to 2000.
4. Areas we have covered, 2000-current:
— We have continued to write articles
concerned with circadian rhythms in general, part of which is
travel;
— Specific reviews on travel,
dealing with travel fatigue and jet lag have been written. These
have also attempted to offer advice to the general traveller,
to athletes and to aircrew. There is also a web site that gives
information and advice on light and melatonin;
— We have not dealt specifically
about the cabin environment, but this is covered in many of the
reviews (part of travel fatigue). In addition, we have considered
the palatability of food in trans-meridian travellers;
— We have produced several pieces
of evidence relating to what, exactly, is meant by "jet lag";
— We have produced a review of
the effects of noise upon sleep in those living near to a major
international airport;
— We have considered the "problem"
of melatonin; whether or not it is effective (in many of the reviews),
problems associated with its use, and the lack of information
relating to its toxicology, particularly in the long-term;
— We have also attempted to produce
simple, non-intrusive methods for establishing sleep loss and
altered activity patterns after flights.
8 June 2007
PUBLICATIONS
General Reviews on Circadian Rhythms, including
Travel
Waterhouse, J, Minors, D, Waterhouse, M, Reilly,
T and Atkinson, G (2002). Keeping in Step with your Body Clock.
OUP, Oxford.
J Waterhouse and P DeCoursey (2004). The relevance
of circadian rhythms for human welfare. In Chronobiology. Biological
Timekeeping (eds J Dunlap, J Loros, and P DeCoursey). Sunderland,
MA: Sinauer, pp 325-356.
Reilly, T and Waterhouse, J (2004). Sport, Exercise
and Environmental Physiology, Elsevier, Edinburgh.
Reviews on Travel and Jet Lag
T Reilly, G Atkinson, J Waterhouse (2000). Chronobiology
and physical performance. In: Exercise and Sport Science
(eds) W Garrett, D Kirkendall, Lippincott Williams, Philadelphia,
pp 351-372.
J Waterhouse (2000). Brief review: jet lag. Travel
Wise 6: 5-6.
Reilly, G, Atkinson, J, Waterhouse (2000). Endurance
performers and time-zone shifts. In: Endurance in Sport,
2nd Edition, (ed) R Shephard and P Astrand, Blackwell Science,
Oxford, pp 639-650.
Waterhouse, J, Edwards, B, Carvalho Bos, S, Buckley,
P and Reilly, T, (2002), Circadian rhythms and some aspects of
jet lag and shift work, with particular reference to athletes.
European Journal of Sport Science, 2(6): 19 pages.
J Waterhouse, T Reilly, B Edwards (2003). Long-haul
flights, travel fatigue and jet lag. In: Passenger Behaviour
(ed R Bor), Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Aldershot, UK, pp 246-260.
J Waterhouse, D Minors (2003). Circadian rhythm Abnormalities.
In: P Redfern, ed Chronotherapeutics. London: Pharmaceutical
Press. pp 309-341.
Reilly, T, Edwards, B J and Waterhouse, J, (2004).
Long-haul travel and jet-lag: Behavioural and pharmacological
approaches. Medicina Sportiva, 7: E115-E122.
J Waterhouse, T Reilly, B Edwards (2004). The stress
of travel. J Sport Sci., 22: 946-966.
Reilly, T, Edwards, B, Waterhouse, J and Atkinson,
G, (2005). Jet lag and air travel: implications for performance.
Clinics in Sports Med. 24: 367-380.
Waterhouse J, Spencer M, Elsey A, Edwards B, Atkinson
G, Reilly t (2006). Occupational factors in pilot mental health:
sleep loss, jet lag, and shift work. In: Aviation Mental Health
ed R Bor, T Hubbard, Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, pp 255-284.
Waterhouse, J, Reilly, T, Atkinson, G, Edwards, B,
(2007). Jet lag: trends and coping strategies. The Lancet,
369, 1117-1129.
Reilly, T, Atkinson, G, Edwards, B, Waterhouse, J,
Akerstedt, T, Davenne, D, Lemmer, B, Wirz-Justice, A, 2007. Position
Statement. Coping with jet-lag: A position statement for the European
College of Sport Science. Eur J Sport Sci, 7:1-7.
A web site (in collaboration with Medical Advisory
Service for Travellers Abroad) on jetlag:http://www.masta-travel-health.com/travel-health-library.aspx?page_group=15£p
Jet Lag
J Waterhouse, B Edwards, A Nevill, G Atkinson, T
Reilly, P Davies, R Godfrey (2000). Do subjective symptoms predict
our perception of jet lag? Ergonomics 43: 1514-1527.
Waterhouse, J, Edwards, B, Nevill, A, Carvalho, S,
Atkinson, G, Buckley, P, Reilly, T, Godfrey, R and Ramsay, R,
(2002). Identifying some determinants of "jet lag" and
its symptoms: a study of athletes and other travellers. Br
J Sports Med, 36: 54-60.
J Waterhouse, A Nevill, B Edwards, R Godfrey and
T Reilly (2003). The relationship between assessments of jet lag
and some of its symptoms. Chronobiology International,
20: 1061-1073.
Waterhouse, J, Nevill, A, Finnegan, J, Williams,
P, Edwards, B, Kao, S, Reilly, T, (2005). Further assessments
of the relationship between jet lag and some of its symptoms.
Chronobiol Int 22: 107-122.
J Waterhouse, S Kao, D Weinert, B Edwards, G
Atkinson and T Reilly (2005). Measuring phase shifts in humans
following a simulated time-zone transition: agreement between
constant routine and purification methods. Chronobiol Int
22: 829-858.
Melatonin
B Edwards, G Atkinson, J Waterhouse, T Reilly, R
Godfrey, R Budgett (2000). Use of melatonin in recovery from jet-lag
following an eastward flight across 10 time zones. Ergonomics
43: 1501-1513.
Atkinson, G, Buckley, P, Edwards, B, Reilly, T and
Waterhouse, J, (2001). Are there hangover-effects on physical
performance when melatonin is ingested by athletes before nocturnal
sleep? Int J Sports Med 2001; 22: 232-234.
Herxheimer A and Waterhouse, J (2003) Editorial:
The prevention and treatment of jet lag. British Medical Journal
326:296-297.
Activity
S Carvalho Bos, J Waterhouse, B Edwards, R Simons,
T Reilly (2003). The use of actimetry to assess changes to the
rest-activity cycle. Chronobiology International, 20: 1039-1059.
Noise
Waterhouse, J, Simons, R, Reilly, T, Valk, P, (2004).
Non-Auditory Health Effects of Aircraft Noise with Special Reference
to Sleep Disturbance. Report commissioned by Sciphol Airport.
Liverpool John Moores University, 56 pp.
Food intake
J Waterhouse, S Kao, B Edwards, D Weinert, G Atkinson
and T Reilly (2005) Transient changes in the pattern of food intake
following a simulated time-zone transition to the east across
eight time zones. Chronobiology International, 22: 299-319.
Waterhouse, J, Kao, S, Edwards, B, Atkinson, G, Reilly,
T, (2006). Factors associated with food intake in passengers on
long-haul flights. Chronobiology International, 23: 1-23.24.
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