![]() Your body has an internal clock that dictates when you eat, sleep and might have a heart attack – all based on time of day This contributes to a higher risk of infection among shift workers, notably COVID, and could also play a role in cancer progression.Īltogether, this contributes to a globally increased predisposition to several illnesses, including cancer diabetes and heart disease. This impacts the connection between the brain and surrounding tissues, and their proper function.įinally, shift-work simulation in humans showed an impact on the immune system. ![]() ShutterstockĬircadian disruption is also associated with a disturbance of the autonomous nervous system that orchestrates our basic functions like breathing or keeping our heart beating. Light and food at night affects how our body uses and stores nutrients. Like in animal models, the disruption of the well-organised physiology caused by light at night or feeding at the wrong time disturbs the organs’ natural function, particularly the capacity to store and use nutrients during the proper period. There is no simple explanation, and it likely involves multiple components. Why does the circadian disruption wreak so much havoc? It also exacerbates the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in studies of mice. In studies using animal models, this lost synchronicity leads to an increased incidence of breast cancer and faster tumour growth. This is seen even in cases of low-intensity light in the bedroom such as a TV screen. This leads to increased weight gain, type 2 diabetes, increased blood pressure, and compromised immune response. If these clocks now get input from other sources like food at night, or if the conductor gets distracted with something like light during the night, this synchrony gets lost. The central clock in the brain acts as a kind of conductor of an orchestra that synchronises all these clocks and is synchronised every day by the environmental light.Īll systems in our body are synchronised. These circadian clocks are present in almost every cell of our organism. These functions decrease in the night when the body starts to use the stored nutrients during this period of fasting. Muscle strength, the immune system, and cognitive performances, for example, are higher during the day when the body is also storing nutrients from food. ![]() Should we eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper? Growing evidence points to the disruption of the circadian clock caused by being active or awake at night when we are supposed to sleep.ĭuring evolution, living species – from bacteria and plants to humans – have acquired a circadian clock to optimise bodily processes in an environment that changes throughout the day.Ĭonsequently, almost all aspects of behaviour, physiology and metabolism are rhythmically organised to anticipate these daily changes. Unsplash/Sam Moghadam What’s behind the increased risk? ![]()
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