According to a 2019 article in the Journal of Biological Rhythms, your body’s natural clock factors into your sleep cycle, hormone release, and heart function. Your body also prefers food at certain times to give you energy for the day. When you eat food closer to the times your body intends to rest, this disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm and metabolism. Eating your meals as your melatonin levels begin to rise is linked to higher body fat. Melatonin can limit the release of insulin in your system, so eating too late at night and too early in the morning can have a larger effect on your blood sugar.
On the other hand, eating according to your body’s circadian rhythms allows your body to efficiently use the nutrients for energy. Eating larger meals earlier in the day can be a healthier practice. It’s also healthier to eat your meals at the same time every day and within a 12-hour window.
A 2021 article in Current Biology compared two eating schedules over eight weeks: a daytime schedule with meals limited to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a delayed schedule with meals limited to 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. The results showed that the daytime eating schedule led to weight loss and improvements in energy metabolism and insulin resistance compared to the delayed eating schedule.
