Does shining a flashlight behind your knee prevent jet lag?
Campbell and Murphy had put 15 volunteers in a lab for four days and at varying times during the second day had hooked them up to a knee light (not a flashlight but a fiber optic pad illuminated by a halogen lamp) for three hours. Meanwhile the researchers monitored the volunteers' body temperature and other indicators to determine the effect on circadian rhythms. Sure enough, they found that if the light pulse was administered before body temperature bottomed out (this typically occurs around 4 or 5 AM), the body rhythm was retarded three hours--that is, the temp hit bottom at 7 AM rather than 4 and was still doing so a couple days later. If the light pulse was administered after the low point, the rhythm was advanced a couple hours.
Why behind the knee? Because many blood vessels are close to the surface there. The researchers theorized that exposure to light caused changes in blood chemistry that reset the body's internal clock--an obvious benefit for those prone to jet lag.
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Etymology: New Latin, from Greek amnEsia forgetfulness, alteration of amnEstia
1 : loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression, or illness
2 : a gap in one's memory
3 : the selective overlooking or ignoring of events or acts that are not favorable or useful to one's purpose or position
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dic tionary&va=amnesia