Eating Only During Daytime May Prevent Heart Issues from Night Shifts: Study

New Delhi: A new study has revealed that eating only during daytime hours may help prevent heart problems commonly associated with night shift work.

Shift Work and Heart Health: A Known Risk

While shift work is already recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, researchers from Mass General Brigham, US, and the University of Southampton, UK, suggest that food timing could play an even bigger role in heart health than previously understood.

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Circadian Misalignment: The Hidden Danger

Earlier studies have linked night shift work to serious health risks due to circadian misalignment—a disconnect between behavioral cycles and the body’s internal clock. This misalignment is known to elevate risks for heart disease.

Study Findings: Daytime Eating Reduces Cardiovascular Risk

The new research found that cardiovascular risk markers such as:

• Autonomic nervous system activity
• Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (linked to blood clots)
• Blood pressure
  significantly increased after night work in participants who ate during the night.

However, participants who only ate during the daytime did not show these increases in risk factors.

Who Can Benefit from Daytime Eating?

According to the researchers, avoiding or limiting nighttime eating may benefit:

• Night shift workers
• Individuals with insomnia or sleep-wake disorders
• People with irregular sleep patterns
• Frequent travelers across time zones

Study Design: Controlled and Isolated Testing

The study involved 20 healthy young adults, kept in a controlled environment for two weeks. Participants had no access to:

• Windows
• Clocks or watches
• Electronic devices

This ensured no external cues affected their circadian rhythm.

Experimental Conditions

Participants underwent a 32-hour awake cycle in a dimly lit room, consuming identical snacks hourly. Later, they were split into two groups:

• One ate only during the day
• The other ate throughout the night

Both groups had the same nap schedule, eliminating sleep variance as a factor.