Endogenous circadian system and circadian misalignment impact glucose tolerance via separate mechanisms in humans.

ABSTRACT: Glucose tolerance is lower in the evening and at night than in the morning. However, the relative contribution of the circadian system vs. the behavioral cycle (including the sleep/wake and fasting/feeding cycles) is unclear. Furthermore, although shift work is a diabetes risk factor, the separate impact on glucose tolerance of the behavioral cycle, circadian phase, and circadian disruption (i.e., misalignment between the central circadian pacemaker and the behavioral cycle) has not been systematically studied. Here we show--by using two 8-d laboratory protocols--in healthy adults that the circadian system and circadian misalignment have distinct influences on glucose tolerance, both separate from the behavioral cycle. First, postprandial glucose was 17% higher (i.e., lower glucose toleran

SUBMITTER: Morris CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4418873 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature