The 21st century is a time that has seen immense advancement in almost every facet of life. Mankind is creating things only dreamt of in the past, but our only limit is time. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day and human life is based on circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms help facilitate the day-to-day activities such as feeding, sleeping, hormonal release, and it even regulates body temperature based on what time of day it is. Due to the many complexities of life, each day is unique and often there are many fluctuations in this rhythm. Fluctuations can occur from deviating sleeping and eating schedules, night-shift workers, and even cell phone use late at night. The brain's internal clock is known as the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN). The SCN is involved in coordinating these circadian rhythms to cells in order to adapt to the environment optimally. According to Cavanaugh et al., "to maintain rhythmic oscillations under constant conditions; however, because they oscillate with an intrinsic period that is not exactly 24-h, they must be reset on a daily basis through the process of entrainment in order to remain synchronized to environmental cues." Abrupt changes in these rhythms is known as Chronic Circadian Misalignment (CCM).
To investigate the effect CCM could have on organisms, Dr. Cavanaugh explored this concept with Drosophila melanogaster. Results from his study indicated that CCM caused reduction in life span and overall decline by differentially expressing genes involved in synthetic and developmental pathways. In humans, similar results are shown. In a 2016 study conducted out of Harvard medical school by Scheer, Mistretta, Purvis, and Morris, they investigated the effect of CCM on Glucose tolerance. This study assayed healthy chronic shift workers in two contexts. One group simulated a 12-hour night shift and another group simulated a 12-hour day shift. The researchers attempted to understand the, "postprandial glucose and insulin responses to identical meals given at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM in both protocols." (Scheer et al., 2016). Results from the study indicated that their postprandial glucose was 6.5% higher in the night eaters. The results demonstrated that pancreatic beta cell function was 18% lower and there was decreased glucose sensitivity. These results are concerning considering the rise in diabetics within the United States. With such hectic schedules, Americans are putting themselves at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and even becoming closer to obesity.
If someone is unable to change their aberrant circadian rhythms, then maybe they could more fruits and vegetables to combat it? In 2017, a study out of Rice University under Dr. Janet Braam found that vegetables also display some sort of circadian rhythm. According to Dr. Braam, "vegetables increase and decrease certain phytochemicals based on the time of day." This doesn't seem surprising given that vegetables and all plants get their circadian cues directly from their life source, the Sun. So, how does this help humans? According to Dr. Braam's research, the most potent time plants make their most nutrients available is during the middle of the day, when they’re is the most sunlight. Although eating vegetables may not correct CCM, it can for sure help prevent the advent of diseases such as Diabetes.
Making good life choices such as eating healthy could be the start to building better habits. Once better habits are established, an individual will have a better grip on their daily lives. Resulting in potentially developing a rhythmic schedule to correct for CCM.
Alex C. Boomgarden, Gabriel D. Sagewalker, Aashaka C. Shah, Sarah D. Haider, Heather E. Wheeler, Christine M. Dubowy, & Daniel J. Cavanaugh. (2019, January 07). Chronic circadian misalignment results in reduced longevity and large-scale changes in gene expression in Drosophila. Retrieved from https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-018-5401-7
Douillard, J. (2018, October 12). Reset Your Circadian Rhythms with a Plant-Based Diet. Retrieved from https://lifespa.com/reset-circadian-rhythms-plant-based-diet/
Morris, C. J., Purvis, T. E., Mistretta, J., & Scheer, F. A. (2016, March). Effects of the Internal Circadian System and Circadian Misalignment on Glucose Tolerance in Chronic Shift Workers. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26771705
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