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Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world

Which suggestions for behavioral modifications, based on mathematical models, are most likely to be followed in the real world? We address this question in the context of human circadian rhythms. Jet lag is a consequence of the misalignment of the body’s internal circadian (~24-hour) clock during an...

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Autores principales: Christensen, Samuel, Huang, Yitong, Walch, Olivia J., Forger, Daniel B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808694/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33370265
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008445
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author Christensen, Samuel
Huang, Yitong
Walch, Olivia J.
Forger, Daniel B.
author_facet Christensen, Samuel
Huang, Yitong
Walch, Olivia J.
Forger, Daniel B.
author_sort Christensen, Samuel
collection PubMed
description Which suggestions for behavioral modifications, based on mathematical models, are most likely to be followed in the real world? We address this question in the context of human circadian rhythms. Jet lag is a consequence of the misalignment of the body’s internal circadian (~24-hour) clock during an adjustment to a new schedule. Light is the clock’s primary synchronizer. Previous research has used mathematical models to compute light schedules that shift the circadian clock to a new time zone as quickly as possible. How users adjust their behavior when provided with these optimal schedules remains an open question. Here, we report data collected by wearables from more than 100 travelers as they cross time zones using a smartphone app, Entrain. We find that people rarely follow the optimal schedules generated through mathematical modeling entirely, but travelers who better followed the optimal schedules reported more positive moods after their trips. Using the data collected, we improve the optimal schedule predictions to accommodate real-world constraints. We also develop a scheduling algorithm that allows for the computation of approximately optimal schedules "on-the-fly" in response to disruptions. User burnout may not be critically important as long as the first parts of a schedule are followed. These results represent a crucial improvement in making the theoretical results of past work viable for practical use and show how theoretical predictions based on known human physiology can be efficiently used in real-world settings.
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spelling pubmed-78086942021-01-26 Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world Christensen, Samuel Huang, Yitong Walch, Olivia J. Forger, Daniel B. PLoS Comput Biol Research Article Which suggestions for behavioral modifications, based on mathematical models, are most likely to be followed in the real world? We address this question in the context of human circadian rhythms. Jet lag is a consequence of the misalignment of the body’s internal circadian (~24-hour) clock during an adjustment to a new schedule. Light is the clock’s primary synchronizer. Previous research has used mathematical models to compute light schedules that shift the circadian clock to a new time zone as quickly as possible. How users adjust their behavior when provided with these optimal schedules remains an open question. Here, we report data collected by wearables from more than 100 travelers as they cross time zones using a smartphone app, Entrain. We find that people rarely follow the optimal schedules generated through mathematical modeling entirely, but travelers who better followed the optimal schedules reported more positive moods after their trips. Using the data collected, we improve the optimal schedule predictions to accommodate real-world constraints. We also develop a scheduling algorithm that allows for the computation of approximately optimal schedules "on-the-fly" in response to disruptions. User burnout may not be critically important as long as the first parts of a schedule are followed. These results represent a crucial improvement in making the theoretical results of past work viable for practical use and show how theoretical predictions based on known human physiology can be efficiently used in real-world settings. Public Library of Science 2020-12-28 /pmc/articles/PMC7808694/ /pubmed/33370265 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008445 Text en © 2020 Christensen et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Christensen, Samuel
Huang, Yitong
Walch, Olivia J.
Forger, Daniel B.
Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title_full Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title_fullStr Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title_full_unstemmed Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title_short Optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
title_sort optimal adjustment of the human circadian clock in the real world
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808694/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33370265
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008445
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