BASEBALL JET LAG

"Baseball Teams Beaten by Jet Lag'' by L. D. Recht, R. A. Lew, and W. J. Schwartz, Nature 377, p 583 (1995), reports a statistically significant (P = 0.006) effect of jet lag on baseball players who have traveled by air across three time zones within the previous three days.

After separating jet lag effects from other parameters such as home field advantage, they found that jet lag reduces the number of runs scored per game by 1.24 (plus or minus 0.45) runs if the travel across time zones has been eastward. Westward travel has no effect.

The authors point out that, although this factor affects only 5% of games played, division titles in 1991 and 1993 in the National League West were lost by western teams to eastern teams by only one game.

Baseball is only a game, but the greater message to Westerners is clear. If the issue is important, have the Easterners come to you.

•	Peer Review
•	THERMOMETERS
•	RAINFALL
•	UTOPIA
•	ASIAN POWER
•	WOUND BALLISTICS
•	*BASEBALL JET LAG*
•	GULF WAR SYNDROME
•	STARK RAVING MAD
•	GOOD READING

Vol. 23, No. 6

Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
Volume: Issues
Issue/No.: Vol. 23, No. 6

Date: February 01, 1996 01:59 PM
Title: Peer Review