In a new study supported by NIH, researchers found that eating during the nighttime—as many night shift workers do—can increase glucose levels, while eating only during the daytime might prevent the higher glucose levels now linked with nocturnal work life.
Previous studies have shown that shift workers – grocery stockers, hotel workers, truck drivers, first responders, and others – are at an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
In the current study, the team enrolled 19 healthy young participants (seven women and 12 men).
After a preconditioning routine, the participants were randomly assigned to a 14-day controlled laboratory protocol involving simulated night work conditions with one of two meal schedules.
One group ate during the nighttime to mimic a meal schedule typical among night workers, and one group ate during the daytime.
The researchers then evaluated the effects of these meal schedules on their internal circadian rhythms.
That’s the internal process that regulates not just the sleep-wake cycle, but also the 24-hour cycle of virtually all aspects of your bodily functions, including metabolism
The researchers found that nighttime eating boosted glucose levels – a risk factor for diabetes – while restricting meals to the daytime prevented this effect.
Specifically, average glucose levels for those who ate at night increased by 6.4% during the simulated night work, while those who ate during the daytime showed no significant increases.
The mechanisms behind the study findings are complex.
The nighttime eating effects on glucose levels during simulated night work are caused by circadian misalignment.
That corresponds to the mistiming between the central circadian “clock” (located in the brain’s hypothalamus) and behavioral sleep/wake, light/dark, and fasting/eating cycles, which can influence peripheral “clocks” throughout the body.
Particularly, mistiming of the central circadian clock with the fasting/eating cycles plays a key role in boosting glucose levels.
The findings suggest that when you eat matters for determining health outcomes such as blood sugar levels, which are relevant for night workers as they typically eat at night while on shift.
If you care about wellness, please read studies about poor sleep linked to poor blood sugar, and findings of why people with sleep apnea more likely to have high blood pressure.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies about drug that may prevent respiratory and heart damage in COVID-19, and results showing this common sleep supplement may protect against cognitive decline, memory loss.
The study was conducted by Sarah L. Chellappa et al., and published in Science Advances.
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