Taking the whole Christmas and new year period off work could leave you with a type of jet lag when you return, scientists say.

They claim the extra-long festive break interrupts our body clocks and leaves them with symptoms similar to having travelled to a different time zone.

On top of that, negative emotions associated with the holiday season being over and two weeks of irregular sleeping patterns could lead workers to feel tired and lacklustre.

Feeling sleepy: the result of the long Christmas break can leave workers feeling tired out

Helpfully the scientists have come up with a name for the phenomenon – ‘social jet lag’.

They reckon that when employees have a long time off work, many of them relax their sleeping patterns, treating themselves to lie-ins and going to bed later than normal as they don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn the next day.

But when faced with going back to work after nearly two weeks with a different sleep/wake cycle, returning to a routine of waking up in the dark can throw the body clock out of sync.

As a result, people are left with symptoms similar to the effects of jet lag.

That shows itself in the struggle to get up in the morning, feeling sluggish, finding it a difficult to fall asleep at night and feeling sleepy during the day.

Other symptoms include indigestion, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, clumsiness, feeling generally unwell, lack of energy, fatigue and irritability.

Social jet lag is described as the difference between biological time and external requirements.

As well as affecting adults, it also causes a problem for teenagers, who will find it difficult to wake up for school.

Dr Victoria Revell, a researcher from the University of Surrey, said: ‘Over the Christmas period we will enjoy staying up late at night and staying in bed in the morning.

‘however, this will allow our body clock to drift later in time similar to flying a couple of time zones west.

‘This means that when we go back to work in the new year our body clock will be set later than we want it to be so we will really struggle to wake up, get up and get going in the mornings.

‘one way to enjoy the festive season but not let our body clock drift too far is to ensure that we still get up at a reasonable time even when not going to work.’

WORCESTER —  The holiday season is a time of bright colors, Christmas songs, parties and shopping in crowds. It can cause many people anxiety. For those who are autistic, the anxiety can be overwhelming. while the holiday season can be a time of great joy for them, it can also be a time of great stress. Autism is a neurological disorder characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. People with autism and those who care for them indicate that holiday activities can overwhelm the senses of people who can’t successfully filter out all the sounds, sights and smells bombarding them. Sonya a. Esber is executive director of Archway in Leicester, where 25 people with autism spectrum disorder live, go to school and work at day programs. she said the holidays are a time of increased activities. she said when parties that can feature Christmas music are held, those attending are given ample opportunity to go to their rooms if they are feeling overwhelmed. “we know what each individual’s different space is,” she said. “we have to plan things carefully.” Webster resident Cassy Gentile, 24, who works closely with her 27-year old brother, Richard Gentile of Worcester, said there have been Christmas seasons through the years when her brother has experienced tremendous anxiety. As he gets older, he is adapting more to the hectic happenings of the holiday season, she said. “He’s been doing pretty good. he usually doesn’t get too overwhelmed,” Ms. Gentile said recently. “The biggest thing that we have to watch out for is that he doesn’t overeat.” Ms. Gentile said her brother loves chicken and candy, and if he isn’t watched closely he could eat enough to make himself sick. Susan J. Loring, director of the Horace Mann Educational Association’s Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts in West Boylston, said younger autistic people, especially those who have profound symptoms of the disorder, can be affected more dramatically by the sensory overload of the holiday season. like Richard Gentile, some autistic people learn what to do to lessen their anxiety as they get older, she added. Mrs. Loring’s son, Eddie, is 26 and autistic, and even though he can’t tell people exactly what he is experiencing during the holiday season she knows it can be stressful for him. Through the years, efforts have been made to lower her son’s stress level. “The holiday season for my son is fairly enjoyable, “Mrs. Loring said. “We’ve scaled back the activities of the holiday season. we celebrate Christmas in a calm way.” One of Eddie’s favorite activities is looking at the Christmas lights and decorations. “Eddie likes the visual aspect of Christmas,” Mrs. Loring said. so does Jason T. White, 31, who lives on West Street in Southbridge, where he has his own apartment. “I like the decorations at Christmas. I like the pretty colors of the lights all lit up on the Christmas tree,” said Mr. White, who is autistic. “I like putting presents under the tree and I like hearing Christmas carols.” Mr. White works two days a week at Angel Guard Products on Goddard Drive, where he assembles items such as brushes people use to clear snow from their cars, and three days a week at Yankee Spirits in Sturbridge, where he is a custodian. “Jason is a really good, hard worker,” said Angel Guard Products owner Frederick P. Cormier. while he finds the holiday season exciting, Mr. White acknowledges he can get overwhelmed at times. when he does, ““I’ll go to my room and play Nintendo by myself,” he said. going outside and walking around is Timothy Heard’s strategy for dealing with the stress that come with the holidays. “I just walk away, that’s all. I just walk away,” he said during a recent interview at his home on Fink Road in Millbury, where he lives with his father, John, and mother, Toni. Mr. Heard, 24, works every Thursday bagging groceries at Goretti’s Supermarket in Millbury and he plans to get an associate’s degree in the spring from Quinsigamond Community College. Mr. Heard, who has taken writing courses at the college, blogs under the heading The Voice of Heard on the website of Worcester cable access television station WCCA. he also made a one-minute movie called “The Routine Entrapment” through the Soundscapes program at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. Mr. Heard, who has Asperger’s syndrome and ends many statements with the words “that’s my view, anyway,” said he has noticed that people shopping at Goretti’s are more excited during the holiday season. “There’s a lot of side talk,” he said. “Christmas can be stressful.” Fink Road in Millbury is a dead-end street where birds dart in and out of bird feeders that can be seen through the kitchen windows, and it is a perfect place for Mr. Heard to go outside and walk around, his mother and father said. a recent visit to see his brother Matt, 26, in busy Allston featured surroundings that were much different. he said he didn’t mind the sights and sounds that day, although there were more people there than he would have liked. Elizabeth Keirns, 43, a file clerk for a Worcester accounting firm, lives on Addison Drive with her cat, Brent. she is autistic and is looking forward to a quiet Christmas. “he came to me during the Advent season,” Ms. Keirns said of the cat. “For me, the Christmas season actually isn’t that bad,” she said. “There are certain parts of Christmas that I enjoy, like the reason for Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus. I like the pretty lights of Christmas, and there are some things I like on television.” Ms. Keirns, who said she is looking forward to relaxing at home on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, acknowledged the holiday season can be stressful for everybody. “Certain things are more accentuated about it,” she said. “I think autistic people are more easily affected if something goes wrong.” Most Read Stories

TORONTO – Flu activity is picking up in some parts of Canada, but the predominant strain in this country is H3N2 instead of the pandemic H1N1 virus that dominated the health-care scene a year ago.

Dr. Irene Armstrong of Toronto Public Health says influenza appears to be hitting hard earlier this season in Toronto, compared to other regular non-pandemic flu years. The number of lab-confirmed cases so far is 515, she said, compared to an average of about 81 cases per year at this point from 2004-05 to 2008-09. Five deaths have been recorded.

“We know our hospitals are busy,” Armstrong said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re seeing outbreaks in long-term care homes, and especially over the last couple of weeks.”

Outbreaks have been reported at long-term care facilities in Winnipeg and other centres as well, with would-be visitors warned to stay away if they’re coughing and experiencing other flu symptoms.

Dr. Ken Scott of the Public Health Agency of Canada said flu is fairly widespread in one region of Manitoba and there’s localized activity in other parts of Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

“We didn’t have some reporting from some of the jurisdictions over the holiday season, but in the week just prior to that there was a fair bit of activity in the Windsor to Montreal corridor,” noted Scott, senior medical adviser for Infectious Diseases and Prevention Control.

Statistics compiled by the national agency as of Tuesday show 4,112 samples tested, with 927 showing up positive for flu. These don’t necessarily include the most up-to-date numbers from the provinces and territories. furthermore, Armstrong explained these would only be the “tip of the iceberg” and most cases are never lab-confirmed.

Scott said the predominant strain in Canada and the United States is H3N2 influenza A, while H1N1 is “not a big player in Canada this year,” representing less than 10 per cent of isolates.

He said the good news is that the flu shot this year can protect against both.

But there are concerns in the health community that fewer people are opting for a flu shot this year.

For example, Armstrong said 230,000 people were vaccinated with pandemic H1N1 vaccine at the city’s public clinics last flu season from Oct. 26 to Jan. 31.

This flu season, fewer than 26,000 people have received shots at the Toronto clinics, which is even down about 20 per cent from a regular seasonal flu year, she said.

“There’s certainly been a lot of speculation about people reflecting on their experience last year with the pandemic H1N1 influenza,” she said, referring to widespread public education campaigns and media attention to flu shots a year ago.

“We had a mild pandemic … so I think it’s sort of fallen off people’s radar.”

Scott said H3N2 has a predilection for the young and the old, pregnant women and people who have underlying medical conditions.

Flu seasons with H3N2 tend to cause more illnesses than the seasonal H1N1 (non-pandemic) virus, he noted, adding that weather could also be a factor in how the flu season goes.

Scott said flu kills between 2,000 and 8,000 Canadians every year, and he recommended that everybody get a flu shot.

Armstrong agreed, and both public health officials said the messages of the pandemic flu campaigns can help now, too.

“If you’re sick with flu symptoms, you should stay home from work or stay home from school,” Armstrong advised.

“You don’t want to go out and risk infecting friends or co-workers or other people out in the community, so it’s best to stay home and rest, really, and treat your symptoms.”

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, extreme tiredness and cough.

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – the Louisville area is seeing its first flu cases this season. during the past week there have been two laboratory confirmed cases of type B influenza. Physician offices are also reporting seeing patients with flu-like symptoms as well as people testing positive on rapid flu tests.

“We urge everyone six months of age and older to get a flu shot,” said acting Public Health and Wellness Director Dr. Matt Zahn.  There is plenty of vaccine available throughout the community.  this year's vaccine is a good match to the type of influenza we are seeing and protects against both H1N1 and the regular seasonal flu.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year from the flu and approximately 20,000 die.  Coincidently this week, December 5 – 11, is National Influenza Vaccination Week.  the CDC's week-long emphasis on flu vaccination was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as fostering greater use of flu vaccine after the holiday season into January and beyond.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends regular seasonal flu vaccinations for everyone six months of age or older as the best way to avoid flu. the CDC especially recommends that people who are at high risk of having serious flu complications or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious complications get a flu shot each year.  these people are:

• Children aged six months up to their 19th birthday
• Pregnant women
• People 50 years of age and older
• People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
  • Health care workers
  • Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
  • Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children younger than six months of age.

Appointments are available for immunizations at the following Public Health and Wellness sites.  Call the clinic site at the phone number listed below to make an appointment.

Dixie Health Center 7219 Dixie Highway937-7277

Neighborhood Place East Health Center 810 Barret Ave 574-6638

Middletown Health Center200 Juneau Drive245-1074

Newburg Health Center 4810 Exeter Avenue458-0778

Flu shots are also available at physicians' office, pharmacies and supermarkets thought the community. 

Metro Health Department

Copyright WAVE News 2010. All rights reserved.

Flu symptoms could spread from one person to the next as Canadian health officials warn that the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe this holiday season with the convergence of the flu and the holidays.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, common flu symptoms include:

• High fever
• Headache
• Coughing
• Sore throat
• Running and/or stuffy nose
• Aching body
• Diarrhea/vomiting

How can you tell the difference between the flu and the cold?

According to WebMD.com, flu symptoms include having a high fever, while those experiencing a common cold rarely have a fever. Furthermore, a person who experiences the flu could also experience fatigue and weakness for weeks, while the incident of fatigue and weakness in those with the cold is usually “quite mild.”

With the coming holiday, researchers are suggesting that to prevent the spread of the flu, greeting during the holiday should be limited to giving “air kisses,” as the flu is transmitted mostly transmitted through saliva.

Visit ThirdAge.com’s “Flu and Cold” page to learn more about how you can stay healthy and well this holiday season.