What Happens When you Food at Night

Why do we Abuse food at Night?

Food at Night Eating only during the day can offset the harmful effects of nightwork. Eating at Night disrupts the circadian rhythm and throws glucose control off balance. Therefore, night workers have a higher risk of diabetes. It could be avoided by simply sticking to feeding schedules throughout the day.

When you Eat at Night

The researchers simulated night work conditions in the laboratory for 14 days to prove this.

One group of participants ate during the Night to mimic a typical eating schedule among night workers, and the other group ate during the day.

The researchers then tested the effects of these meals on their circadian rhythms.

The circadian rhythm is an internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and the 24-hour cycle of virtually all bodily functions, including breakdown.

The investigators found that eating at Night increased glucose levels, a risk factor for diabetes while restricting meals during the day prevented this effect.

Specifically, those who ate at Night increased their mean glucose levels by 6.4% during simulated night work, while those who ate during the day showed no significant increases.

“This is the first human study to demonstrate the use of mealtimes as a countermeasure to prevent circadian rhythm disturbances and elevated glucose levels due to night work,” said study lead author Frank ALJ Scheer, Harvard Medical School professor of medicine and director of the Medical Chronobiology Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Eating At Night Is More Negative

But why is eating at Night so negative?

The mechanisms behind it are complex, say the researchers.

But most likely, eating at Night causes a circadian misalignment that affects blood sugar levels. Let’s see what it consists of:

Our central circadian “clock” (located in the brain’s hypothalamus) is in sync with the body’s sleep/wake, light/dark, and fasting/eating cycles; and this affects peripheral “clocks” throughout the body that control certain functions of the heart, pancreas, skin, lungs…

In particular, synchronising the central circadian clock with fasting/eating cycles plays a crucial role in raising glucose levels.

Therefore, this study suggests that eating at Night would alter this perfect timing and promote diabetes.

Something that could easily be avoided by having strict meal times throughout the day.

Exercise and Night Work

Night work goes against the nature of our bodies, which project to active during the day and rest at Night.

Maintaining healthy lifestyle habits is so important for people who work night shifts. It is the only way to counteract the adverse effects of their everyday work.

A study available by the European Society of Cardiology showed that these people are also at increased risk

And the longer and more frequently you work night shifts, the higher your risk of developing atrial fibrillation, especially in women.

But there is also an antidote: practice the exercise.

The researchers found that the risk of heart disease was lower in night workers who engaged in 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, 75 minutes or more of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination per week.

In summary, if you work nights, it is incredibly convenient for you to maintain a strict meal schedule and engage in daily physical activity during the day.

Other Reasons Not to Eat as much Food at Night

Nocturnal binge eating can disrupt sleep patterns. They can even induce strange dreams and nightmares, especially in youth.

Eating at Night can impair memory and cognitive and learning functions.

Studies have shown that eating after 7 a.m. increases the risk of heart attacks.

Eating a lot and lying down promotes gastroesophageal reflux.

Thanks to the insulin your body produces when you eat, you wake up feeling more hungry

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