Dietary Intervention to Mitigate Night-Shift Effects
Summary
This registered dietary intervention protocol aims to determine whether a controlled meal schedule can reduce metabolic strain for healthy adults working night shifts. Participants complete two inpatient stays—receiving identical meals each time—while researchers collect detailed metabolic data including blood, urine, saliva, stool, and rectal swabs. The study, conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and supported by the NHLBI, remains in the recruiting phase with no published results yet.
Why It Matters For Night Shift Workers and Night Owls
Night shifts disrupt internal clocks and metabolic processes, increasing risks for insulin resistance, inflammation, and weight gain. By testing a structured dietary intervention in a controlled setting, this protocol can reveal concrete effects of meal timing and composition on those metabolic risks. If successful, it could serve as a validated framework for designing tailored dietary strategies that help night workers maintain healthier metabolism—even amid circadian misalignment.
Notes
Healthy night‑shift adults.