Viagra could aid jetlag recovery

Viagra could be used to help people flying eastwards recover from jetlag, animal research suggests.

A team of Argentine scientists found the drug helped hamsters recover up to 50% faster from forward shifts in their daily time cycles.

However, the drug only worked in conjunction with light therapy, and only in one time direction - the equivalent to flying eastbound.

The study features in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In mammals, the light-dark cycle regulates the body's biological clock, which promotes activity during the daytime, when it is light, and sleep at night.