IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-57846-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Daytime eating during simulated night work mitigates changes in cardiovascular risk factors: secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah L. Chellappa

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Harvard Medical School
    University of Southampton)

  • Lei Gao

    (Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Medical School
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital)

  • Jingyi Qian

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Harvard Medical School)

  • Nina Vujovic

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Harvard Medical School)

  • Peng Li

    (Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Medical School
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University)

  • Kun Hu

    (Harvard Medical School
    Harvard Medical School
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University)

  • Frank A.J.L. Scheer

    (Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Harvard Medical School
    Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University)

Abstract

Effective countermeasures against the adverse cardiovascular effects of circadian misalignment, such as effects experienced due to night work or jet lag, remain to be established in humans. Here, we aim to test whether eating only during daytime can mitigate such adverse effects vs. eating during the night and day (typical for night shift workers) under simulated night work (secondary analysis of NCT02291952). This single-blind, parallel-arm trial randomized 20 healthy participants (non-shift workers) to simulated night work with meals consumed during night and day (Nighttime Meal Control Group) or only during daytime (Daytime Meal Intervention Group). The primary outcomes were pNN50 (percentage consecutive heartbeat intervals >50 ms), RMSSD (root mean square of successive heartbeat differences), and LF/HF (low/high cardiac frequency). The secondary outcome was blood concentrations of prothrombotic factor plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). These measures were assessed under Constant Routine conditions, before (baseline) and after (postmisalignment) simulated night work. The meal timing intervention significantly modified the impact of simulated night work on cardiac vagal modulation and PAI-1 (pFDR = 0.001). In the Control Group, the postmisalignment Constant Routine showed a decrease in pNN50 by 25.7% (pFDR = 0.008) and RMMSD by 14.3% (pFDR = 0.02), and an increase in LF/HF by 5.5% (pFDR = 0.04) and PAI-1 by 23.9% (pFDR = 0.04), vs. the baseline Constant Routine. In the Intervention Group, there were no significant changes in these outcomes. For exploratory outcomes, the intervention significantly modified the impact of simulated night work on blood pressure (P

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah L. Chellappa & Lei Gao & Jingyi Qian & Nina Vujovic & Peng Li & Kun Hu & Frank A.J.L. Scheer, 2025. "Daytime eating during simulated night work mitigates changes in cardiovascular risk factors: secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57846-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57846-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57846-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-57846-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anna Palomar-Cros & Valentina A. Andreeva & Léopold K. Fezeu & Chantal Julia & Alice Bellicha & Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot & Serge Hercberg & Dora Romaguera & Manolis Kogevinas & Mathilde Touvier & Bernar, 2023. "Dietary circadian rhythms and cardiovascular disease risk in the prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Edward A. Hayter & Sophie M. T. Wehrens & Hans P. A. Dongen & Alessandra Stangherlin & Shobhan Gaddameedhi & Elena Crooks & Nichola J. Barron & Luigi A. Venetucci & John S. O’Neill & Timothy M. Brown , 2021. "Author Correction: Distinct circadian mechanisms govern cardiac rhythms and susceptibility to arrhythmia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-1, December.
    3. Edward A. Hayter & Sophie M. T. Wehrens & Hans P. A. Dongen & Alessandra Stangherlin & Shobhan Gaddameedhi & Elena Crooks & Nichola J. Barron & Luigi A. Venetucci & John S. O’Neill & Timothy M. Brown , 2021. "Distinct circadian mechanisms govern cardiac rhythms and susceptibility to arrhythmia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alessandra Stangherlin & Joseph L. Watson & David C. S. Wong & Silvia Barbiero & Aiwei Zeng & Estere Seinkmane & Sew Peak Chew & Andrew D. Beale & Edward A. Hayter & Alina Guna & Alison J. Inglis & Ma, 2021. "Compensatory ion transport buffers daily protein rhythms to regulate osmotic balance and cellular physiology," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Paulo Rogério Melo Rodrigues & Luana Silva Monteiro & Thaís Meirelles de Vasconcelos & Iuna Arruda Alves & Edna Massae Yokoo & Rosely Sichieri & Rosangela Alves Pereira, 2024. "Time of Energy Intake: Association with Weight Status, Diet Quality, and Sociodemographic Characteristics in Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(11), pages 1-13, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57846-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.