Released on: September 28, 2008, 4:37 pm

Press Release Author: Bill Ragan, M.S.

Industry: Aerospace

Press Release Summary: GAINESVILLE, FL, September 28, 2008 — Game lost – jet lag?
Lag: A Look at Circadian Desynchronization (ISBN-10:1435702212 / ISBN-13:
9781435702219) was written to help raise awareness of the disturbing effects that
jet lag has on air line pilots, crewmembers, and passengers.

Press Release Body: Lag: A Look at Circadian Desynchronization, by Bill Ragan, M.S.,
was written in response to research that focused on a recent increase in complaints
of jet lag. This increase, Ragan found, came from higher aircraft speeds as a result
of new technologies. He said that as airplanes fly faster than they once did, they
are able to fly across more time zones faster than in years gone by. This, Ragan
said, can result in jet lag that may reduce performance, or ruin your vacation.
Plenty of research supported this, Ragan said, and he pointed to sports tournaments
held over recent years as an example of acute jet lag. One recent case, Ragan said,
was the recent Hawaii at University of Florida game on 8/30/08. While it was an
anecdotal example, Ragan said that Florida’s victory over Hawaii (56-10) could have
been linked to the travel that Hawaii had to make before the game.

Ragan said that research uncovered while he wrote Lag: A Look at Circadian
Desynchronization led him to believe that it would take about five days or six days
for the Hawaii football team to return to their normal body rhythms after flying the
long distance to get to Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of
Florida. Ragan indicated that many other factors may have had an influence on the
outcome of the game, including Hawaii having a new coach, and Florida having Heisman
Trophy Winner Tim Tebow. Ragan said that it was hard to ignore the travel that
Hawaii made when considering the outcome of the game.

The following is a quote from Lag: A Look at Circadian Desynchronization:

" Courtney (1994) said that a 75% decline in the ability to perform complex
cognitive tasks occurred in those who did not have experience dealing with jet lag
syndrome…”

Researchers, Ragan said, indicated that even when specialized training in how to
cope with jet lag was made available to those who traveled across time zones,
performance deficits were still noted. These findings helped to make clear that the
success of a European vacation could be in jeopardy because of jet lag. Is there a
remedy? Ragan identified several interventions in Lag: A Look at Circadian
Desynchronization, and also discussed how to avoid the long term effects of jet lag
that have been found in flight attendants that travel across time zones more
frequently than others do.

Lag: A Look at Circadian Desynchronization was published in 2007 by Lulu
Enterprises, and is available from in the United States from Lulu.com, Target.com,
Amazon.com, Aircraft Technical Books, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, and other
popular booksellers online. Lag: A Look at Circadian Desynchronization makes a great
Christmas gift for anyone interested in science, travel, aviation, medicine, or
sports!

Links to Publication: http://www.lulu.com/wr1000 & http://www.myspace.com/shiftlag.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Bill Ragan, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, received a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology
from Cleveland State University and a Master's Degree in Psychology from Walden
University. He is a lifetime member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in
Psychology, a member of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and
affiliated with the United States Army Medical Department Regiment. Ragan's research
interests include many aspects of clinical and aviation psychology.

Numerous concepts discussed in this book came from observations Ragan made when he
worked in military aviation. His experiences and training on the Bell UH-1 Huey, the
Bell AH-1 Cobra, and the Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopters motivated him to pursue
aviation psychology and this investigation into lag.

MEDIA CONTACT: Please contact the author at billr@exchrome.com.

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Web Site: http://www.lulu.com/wr1000

Contact Details: Bill Ragan
Jet Lag Studies & Research
7 Fraternity Row
Gainesville, FL 32606