Working the night shift? When you eat could be crucial for heart health, study finds
Many employees work all kinds of unusual shifts, often sleeping during the day and eating at night, putting them at risk for heart disease. But researchers in Boston have found that the timing of those meals could make a big difference.
Rhonda Furlong has worked as a nurse for more than 25 years.
"I worked all shifts. Day shift, night shift, evening shift and back and forth," Furlong said.
She would eat and sleep whenever she could, but that took a toll.
"I had a lot of indigestion. I was nauseous," Furlong said. "My mood was affected just because I was so exhausted."
Research shows disruptions to the body's internal clock can put people with overnight and rotating shifts at higher risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Shift worker study
But what if shift workers only ate during daytime hours? A new study at Brigham and Women's Hospital recruited 20 healthy adults and had them each stay in a room for two weeks with no outside visitors under very controlled conditions.
"We controlled what they ate, when they ate, how much they ate, when they slept, when they were physically active or not, what lighting information they were receiving through their eyes," Dr. Frank Scheer, a neuroscientist at the hospital said.
They also had no idea what time it was.
"No clocks, no windows, no radio, no live TV," Scheer said.
Researchers found that when subjects slept during the day and were active at night, it had a negative impact on markers for heart disease, including blood pressure. But Scheer said switching their eating cycle to match "the central body clock in the brain" could help prevent the negative effects on the heart.
"The recommendation for most people would be to decrease the amount of calories they consume during the night, during a night shift," he said.
At the very least, researchers said workers should limit sugars and carbohydrates. That's not always easy, Furlong said.
"I love carbs. Who doesn't love carbs?" she said.
The researchers say the next step is to figure out how to make practical dietary recommendations so shift workers can fit in both sleeping and eating into their daily schedule.
