Disrupting body clock can be detrimental to health

Washington DC A recent study suggests that eating time is important knowledge for the human body which impacts the health of people Furthermore researchers identified insulin as a primary signal that helps communicate the timing of meals to the cellular clocks located across our body commonly known as the body clockThe team behind the research believes this improved understanding may lead to new ways to alleviate the illhealth associated with disruption to the body clockThe body clock also known as the circadian rhythm is a 24hour biological cycle that occurs individually in every cell of the body driving daily rhythms in our physiology from when we sleep to hormone levels to how we respond to medication according to the study published in the Journal of CellOur body clock is synchronised with the surrounding environment by exposure to daylight and the timing of mealsThis synchrony is important for longterm health and it is well known that disrupting your circadian rhythm by shift work or travel across time zones can be detrimental to healthImportantly it is thought that eating at unusual times as often occurs during shift work and jet lag is a major cause of body clock disruptionHowever it has not previously been known exactly how the body clock senses and responds to meal timing making it difficult to provide medical advice or interventions that might alleviate the problemResearchers have now identified insulin as a primary signal that helps communicate the timing of meals to the cellular clocks across our body and in doing so strengthen the circadian rhythm The teams experiments in cultured cells replicated in mice show that insulin a hormone released when we eat adjusts circadian rhythms in many different cells and tissues individually by stimulating the production of a protein called period an essential cog within every cells circadian clockDr John ONeill the lead researcher said At the heart of these cellular clocks is a complex set of molecules whose interaction provides precise 24hour timing What we have shown here is that the insulin released when we eat can act as a timing signal to cells throughout our bodyThe researchers found that when insulin was provided to mice at the wrong biological time when the animals would normally be resting it disrupted normal circadian rhythms causing less distinction between day and nightDr Bechtold a researcher said We already know that modern society poses many challenges to our health and wellbeing things that are viewed as commonplace such as shiftwork sleep deprivation and jet lag disrupt our body clock It is now becoming clear that circadian disruption is increasing the incidence and severity of many diseases including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetesDr Priya Crosby the lead author highlighted Our data suggests that eating at the wrong times could have a major impact on our circadian rhythms There is still work to do here but paying particular attention to meal timing and light exposure is likely the best way to mitigate the adverse effects of shiftwork Even for those who work more traditional hours being careful about when we eat is an important way to help maintain healthy body clocks especially as we ageCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates