Eating at different times
can also affect our biological clock. Mice fed a
high fat diet only during the day time, when
these nocturnal animals should be sleeping, gained significantly
more weight than mice
that got the same diet
but were allowed to eat
at a normal time6. This
study could be translated to the human
situation when people
eat during the night
time. Indeed, people
with a nocturnal lifestyle characterized
by having a dinner
late at night and
eating snacks at
night showed high
levels of glucose
and low levels of
leptin and melatonin (important hormone that regu21
lates sleep) during the
night. Nowadays having a nocturnal lifestyle
is considered one of
the main risks for obesity and diabetes.
The exposure of bright
light at night th rough
the use of computers,
TV and cell phones
can also disrupt our
body clock. Studies in
humans showed that
bright light at night
reduces the secretion
of melatonin7. The reason is that the artificial