Alteration of Internal Circadian Phase Relationships after Morning versus Evening Carbohydrate-Rich Meals in Humans

Abstract

The effects of a single morning and evening carbohydrate-rich meal for 3 consecutive days on circadian phase of core body temperature (CBT), heart rate, and salivary melatonin rhythms were compared under controlled constant routine conditions. In 10 healthy young men entrained to a natural light-dark cycle with regular sleep timing, CBT and heart rate were significantly elevated for approximately 8 h after the last evening carbohydrate-rich meal (EM), and nocturnal melatonin secretion (as measured by salivary melatonin and urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin levels) was reduced, compared to the morning carbohydraterich meal (MM) condition. Thus, circadian phase could not be measured until the following day due to this acute masking effect. The day after the last meal intervention, MM showed a significant advanced circadian phase position in CBT (+59 ± 12 min) and heart rate (+43 ± 18 min) compared to EM. However, dim-light melatonin onset was not significantly changed (+15 ± 13 min). The results are discussed with respect to central (light-entrainable) and peripheral (foodentrainable) oscillators. Food may be a zeitgeber in humans for the food-entrainable peripheral oscillators, but melatonin data do not support such a conclusion for the light-entrainable oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nucleus.