Eating during the day is more beneficial for mental health, while eating at night can increase depression and anxiety, according to a small new American study that shows that meal timing plays a role in a person’s mental state.

Researchers led by Dr. Frank Scheer, director of the Medical Chronobiology Program at the Department of Sleep Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences (PNAS) and found that those of the 19 participants (12 men and 7 women) who ate other than during the day and late at night had a 26% higher level of depressed mood and a 16% higher level of anxiety.

Shire noted that the study included those who often work night shifts to eat later, those who make long transatlantic trips, and those who have insomnia, so they blame their food for it. “Our study introduces a new ‘player’: when a person eats, it affects our mental mood,” he stressed.

Night workers (medical, industrial, security and other essential services) make up 20% of the workforce in today’s society. Night work tends to disrupt the central biological (circadian) clock in the brain, which, among other potential health effects, increases the likelihood depression and stress.

Dr Sarah Zelappa, from the University of Cologne in Germany, said: “Our study is in addition to a growing body of results showing that strategies to improve sleep and circadian rhythms can improve mental health. However, further research will be needed to confirm that changing meal times may help people with depression and anxiety disorders.”

Link to scientific publication: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206348119

Source: RES-EMI