A new article published in Nature Communications suggests that eating only during the daytime could help workers avoid some of the heart risks commonly associated with shift work.
These results came from a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. The trial included 20 healthy participants who underwent a two-week period of simulated shift work at a hospital research center. During the study, participants had no access to windows, watches, or any device that could affect their body clock or circadian rhythm. At the beginning of the study, they stayed awake for 32 hours in a dim environment and ate identical snacks every hour. After this period, they were divided into two groups and participated in simulated night work. One group was assigned to eat during nighttime, while the other group was assigned to eat only during daytime. Both groups had the same sleep schedule, so potential differences between the two groups were only related to their eating schedules. After the period of simulated night work, the participants had various cardiovascular risk factors measured to determine how food timing affected risk.
The results showed that cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, risk of blood clots, and autonomic nervous system markers, were all worse in the group that ate at nighttime compared to their baseline. However, these risk factors remained the same as baseline in the group who ate only during daytime. These results are particularly striking because the sleep patterns and food the two groups ate were identical; the only difference between the groups was when they ate their food.
The authors of the study noted that they controlled for all other factors, so food timing seems to be a major driver of cardiovascular risk among shift workers. While more research and participants are needed to confirm these results, they provide promising evidence that the timing of meals may be an important factor in determining health.
Sources: Nature Communications, Science Daily
