End sadness through food? A new study adds evidence that meal timing can affect mental health, especially depression and anxiety. It has been seen by researchers at Brigham and Women’s who designed a study that simulated night work and then tested the effects of eating during the day and at night versus eating only during the day.
The team found that, among participants in the group that ate both day and night, depression-like mood levels increased by 26% and anxiety-like mood levels by 16%. .
Participants in the day-only group did not experience this increase, suggesting that meal timing may influence mood vulnerability. The results are published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
“Our findings provide evidence that timing of food intake is a novel strategy for minimizing mood vulnerability in individuals experiencing a circadian imbalance, such as people who work shifts, experience jet lag, or have circadian rhythm disturbances,” says co-author Frank, Director of the Medical Chronobiology Program in Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. “Future studies in shift workers and in clinical populations are required to set firmly if changes in meal times can prevent their increased mood vulnerability. Until then, our study brings a new ‘player’: the moment of ingestion of food matters for our state of mind.
Our findings open the door to a novel sleep/circadian behavioral strategy that could also benefit people
Shift workers represent up to 20% of the workforce in industrial societies and are directly responsible for many hospital services, factory jobs and other essential services. These types of workers often experience a mismatch between your circadian clockno in the brain and daily behaviors, such as sleep/wake and fast/eat cycles. More importantly, they also have a 25-40% increased risk of depression and anxiety.
“Shift workers—as well as people experiencing circadian disturbances, including jet lag—may benefit from a meal timing intervention,” says co-author Sarah L. Chellappa. “Our findings open the door to a novel behavioral strategy of sleep/circadian that could also benefit people who suffer from mental health disorders. Our study adds to a growing body of evidence finding that strategies that optimize sleep and circadian rhythms can help promote mental health.”
To conduct the study, the researchers enrolled 19 participants (12 men and 7 women) for a randomized controlled study. Participants underwent a dim-light forced desynchronization protocol for four 28-hour “days,” such that by the fourth “day,” their behavioral cycles were reversed 12 hours, simulating night work and causing a circadian mismatch.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two meal timing groups: the daytime and nighttime eating control group, which ate according to a 28-hour cycle (resulting in eating both at night and during the day, which is typical among night workers), and the day-only eating intervention group, which ate according to a 24-hour cycle (resulting in eating only during the day). The team assessed mood levels related to depression and anxiety every hour.
Higher levels of depression-like mood and anxiety occurred during daytime and evening meals
The results showed that meal timing significantly affected participants’ mood. During the simulated night shift (Day 4), participants in the daytime and evening meals control group had higher levels of depression-like mood and anxiety, compared to baseline (Day 1).
In contrast, no mood changes occurred in the daytime eating intervention group during the sham night shift. Participants with a higher degree of circadian misalignment experienced more mood states similar to depression and anxiety.
“The meal times is emerging as an important aspect of nutrition that can influence physical health,” says Chellappa. But the causal role of timing of food intake in mental health remains to be seen. Future studies are needed to establish whether changes in meal timing can help individuals suffering from depressive and anxiety-related disorders or distress.”