Two Birds With One Stone

Join the mile high club and not get jet lagged.

"Hamsters given Pfizer Viagra adapted more quickly to changes in their internal clocks.

Hamsters given sildenafil, the chemical name of the drug sold as Viagra, adapted more easily to altered patterns of light exposure to simulate changes caused by air travel across time zones. Long-haul travel desynchronizes the body's alignment to the day-night cycle, leading to the disorientation of jet lag.

A person traveling east experiences difficulty falling asleep and awakening; a person traveling west falls asleep and awakes earlier. Viagra helped the hamsters with eastward travel.

Hamsters are the species of choice for studies of circadian rhythms because they have precise patterns, which are easily measured by watching when they run on their exercise wheels.

The researchers synchronized the hamsters to a 24-hour day by simulating light-dark cycles. Once the hamsters adjusted to a cycle, they shifted the light-dark phases forward six hours. One group of hamsters was given saline; the other was given Viagra. The hamsters given Viagra got used to the change four days faster, on average, than their counterparts given a placebo. "

Makes sense since Viagra is designed to keep you up.