New York: While shift work is a known risk factor for cardiovascular events, a new study showed that eating only during the daytime may prevent the risks.
Sleep timing has been a major area of focus, but researchers from Mass General Brigham, US, and the University of Southampton, UK, stated that food timing could be a bigger risk factor when it comes to cardiovascular health.
Previous studies have shown that working the night shift is associated with serious health risks, including to the heart, due to circadian misalignment -- the mistiming of our behavioural cycle relative to our internal body clock.
The researchers found that cardiovascular risk factors including autonomic nervous system markers, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (which increases the risk of blood clots), and blood pressure increased after night work.
However, the risk factors stayed the same in the participants who only ate during the daytime.
The study included 20 healthy young participants. For two weeks they had no access to windows, watches, or electronics that would clue their body clocks into the time.
While further research is necessary to show the long-term health effects of daytime versus nighttime eating, the team said the results are "promising" and suggest that people could improve their health by adjusting food timing.
