NEW DELHI: (Jul 15) A study conducted in young people seeking mental health care found they had disrupted body clocks — which showed up as signs similar to those of ‘jet lag’ — suggesting that body clocks could be a new target for treating mood disorders, researchers said.

The study from The University of Sydney in Australia is the first to look at how three critical measures of one’s biological clock are regulated among people experiencing mental disorders, the team said.

“We analysed participants’ core body temperature, cortisol levels and melatonin levels, which we know play important roles in how our bodies manage the circadian rhythm — our 24-hour cycles which regulate things like wakefulness and sleep,” lead researcher Joanne Carpenter, a research fellow at the faculty of medicine and health, The University of Sydney, said.