The human body works around the clock.

Our biological functions are subject to 24-hour cycles, or circadian rhythms.

All physiological and mental changes inside the body are controlled by a special biological clock.

We all know this from the school bench. But what exactly most students and students do not know is the concept of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This structure of the brain is responsible for the synchronization of all biological clocks of the body, performing the role of "master clock".

The suprachiasmatic nucleus counts about 20,000 nerve cells, and this critical zone is located inside the hypothalamus. The latter is one of the oldest structures in the human brain. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, thirst.

A new study explains how eating can "reset" the biological clock.

Researchers from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom decided to consider the effect of a 5-hour meal delay on the master clock and circadian rhythms of humans.

The project was led by Dr. Sophie Wehrens (Sophie Wehrens), Research Fellow at the Medical Faculty of the University of Surrey. Details of her work are published by Current Biology.

According to Dr. Wahrens, the science is well aware that circadian rhythms, metabolism and diet are closely interrelated. But how exactly the time of food intake affects the biological clock, the researchers did not study in detail. Meanwhile, the results turned out to be curious.

How cells adapt to diet.

The team of Dr. Wahrens scored for her two-week experiment ten healthy young people. Participants were fed thrice daily with 5-hour intervals, but started eating either early in the morning, or with a long delay - 5.5 hours after waking up.

The first week the participants "acclimatized" to an early breakfast, and then their diet was suddenly transferred 5.5 hours later. So they continued to eat until the end of the experiment.

All dishes had the same calorie content and nutritional value.

Researchers measured the circadian rhythms of participants according to a special protocol. The protocol assumes retirement at the same time at a constant level of illumination, as well as a constant diet and tedious physical activity.

In general, the delay in eating did not affect the appetite and the need for participants in a dream. The rhythms of melatonin and cortisol remained stable, and even the activity of most genes.

However, eating time dramatically influenced the level of sugar in the blood.

Late food intake delayed the circadian rhythms of sugar on average by 5 hours!.

"The experiments showed: a 5-hour delay in eating causes a 5-hour delay in our internal rhythms of blood sugar regulation. We think that this is due to changes in the functions of peripheral tissues, and not with a master clock in the brain, "commented project co-author Jonathan Johnston,.

Also, scientists found that the circadian rhythm of the expression of the PER2 gene in the late feeding shifted by 1 hour. The PER2 gene encodes a special protein of the Period family, a masterpiece component of the suprachiasmatic core. His expression was especially "late" in adipose tissue.

"Delay in eating time leads to the desynchronization of the circadian rhythms of the human body. This is especially true of patients with certain chronic diseases, shift workers crossing the traveler's time zones, "reads the publication.

As the researchers note, if there are problems with the circadian rhythm, you can change the time of food intake to "reset" your biological clock. This strategy will be useful for people who work day / night / 48 or make long-distance flights.

medbe. en.