In a field study on jet lag, a condition created when the body's rhythm lags behind or ahead of the time of day it would be at the person's place of departure, the hypothesis was that the body's reactions of fatigue, dizziness, stomach aches, and mental confusion were caused by the rhythmic changes rather than just from the fatigue of flying. One group flew to China, crossing several time zones. Another group flew an equal amount of time and distance, but crossed NO time zones. Which group would be the experimental group, most likely to suffer symptoms of jet lag?
a) The group that did not cross any time zones
b) Neither
c) Both groups
d) The group that flew to Asia

Answer:

The group most likely to suffer symptoms of jet lag is the group that flew to Asia (option d).

Explanation:

In the study, the group that traveled to Asia not only experienced exhaustion by flight hours, but also experienced jet lag. The other group, upon completion of the extended flight, remained in the same time zone.

Jet lag is an alteration in a person's physical conditions, due to a mismatch in their circadian cycle, when a person travels to a country with a different time schedule. Jet lag, especially when traveling between America and Asia, tends to alter a person's light-dark cycle, resulting in unpleasant symptoms:

It is very likely that the time changes have produced symptoms on the trip to Asia, compared to the group that did not go through different time zones.

    The above reasoning explains why the other options are not correct.

Follow-up questions:
1. What did you discover about yourself?

2. Do you think you can start doing any physical activity?

3. Why is it necessary to assess yourself through the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire?​