Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Night and day cycles can sometimes dictate how our body operates.
For instance, daylight makes our brains release substances that stimulate appetite and energy. The opposite is true for night time.
Studies have shown that night-shift workers have a slower metabolism in how they break down food and transform it into energy. Night-owl workers suffer from higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, and weight gain.
But researchers, using a new experimental drug were able to disrupt the 24-hour day-and-night cycle in mice. The mice that received the drug lost their sense of day and night, and became less active, but they still lost weight.
The study found it wasn't because they ate less, but was more likely due to metabolic changes, that caused them to burn more energy.
While interesting, much more research needs to be done to see if this kind of drug would work in people. Since mice are night-animals, while humans thrive during the day.
