There are multiple factors that can influence the amount of calories we burn throughout a day: from the physical activity we do to the diet we consume, to our hours of sleep, which are also very important. But according to a new American study, your circadian rhythm – the processes that control the biological clock so that everything works perfectly – also plays a role. In this way, they point out, there are hours of the day during which your body burns many more calories than others , and that without doing anything special for it.
According to this recent research, carried out by experts at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and published by the journal Current Biology , when we are at rest – and the energy we need is destined for functions such as breathing and blood circulation -, Humans burn around 10% more calories during the afternoon and late afternoon than at night and in the early morning , which is equivalent to an additional 130 calories burned without having to do anything to get it.
Dr. Jeanne Duffy, co-author of this study, acknowledges that it is not entirely clear if people should reorganize our schedules to do physical exercise and eat food around those hours in the afternoon; but it does emphasize that you should avoid consuming calories late at night and first thing in the morning . So the next time you’re tempted to get up in the wee hours of the morning to grab a bite from the fridge, keep all of this in mind.
“For example,” explains Duffy in statements collected by Time , “if we get up an hour or two before and have breakfast at that time, we could be taking those foods not only at a time when our body is not prepared to deal with them , but at a time when we need less energy to maintain our vital functions . For that reason, the same breakfast can result in a number of extra stored calories. “
In a room without a clock or windows
In this laboratory experiment, which took place over a total of 37 days, seven individuals between 38 and 69 years old participated who were subjected to strict control by the researchers : from the diets they ingested to their exposure to light, with the aim of observing the natural impact of circadian rhythms on their bodies. To do this, people lived in a closed area, without windows, without being able to check the clock or access any type of communication (telephones or internet). Likewise, their sleep hours were regulated: they delayed their schedules four hours each night to manipulate the relationship between sleep and the biological clock, so that their circadian cycle worked only based on internal factors.
The subjects were equipped with sensors to measure their body temperature and the researchers found that this temperature was lower – and they burned fewer calories – when the circadian rhythms corresponded to the night and early morning ; while it was higher – and more calories were burned – about twelve hours later. That is, at the end of the afternoon.
According to the results of this study, the interruptions of the circadian rhythm suffered by employees with unusual hours, with shift jobs – those who must rotate to carry out their functions in the morning, afternoon or night in a given period of days or weeks – and nocturnal, could be associated with a series of health problems , such as obesity, type 2 diabetes or cognitive impairment, among others.
Duffy stresses that our biological clocks are “programmed to be ready to do things at regular times of the day and to function optimally . When we stay up all night to work, we are working against those internal biological clocks. ” “It will not be optimally programmed to deal with the fact that it is eating at three in the morning when we normally do not eat at night,” he adds.
