Circadian Nutrition: Could Meal Timing Be the Key to Fighting Fatigue?
Fatigue is a common complaint in today’s fast-paced world, affecting muscle strength, endurance, and overall energy levels. Recent research has highlighted the potential of circadian nutrition—strategically aligning eating patterns with the body’s internal clock—to combat fatigue and improve health.
A study by Dr. Min-Dian Li from Southwest Hospital in China sheds light on the link between meal timing and fatigue. The research focuses on time-restricted feeding (TRF), an eating pattern where food intake is limited to specific hours of the day, creating feeding and fasting cycles. By coordinating these cycles with the body’s circadian rhythms, TRF can optimize the interplay between the brain and muscles, reducing physical and mental fatigue.
Key Findings
Night Restricted Feeding (NRF): Similar to 16:8 intermittent fasting in humans, where eating occurs during an 8-hour window, NRF enhances muscle endurance and cognitive performance in mice on high-fat diets.
Day Restricted Feeding (DRF): Comparable to fasting during Ramadan, DRF improves muscle endurance in lean mice throughout the day.
Underlying Mechanisms: The study identified that muscle clocks regulate key metabolic processes involving proteins like PPAR and Perilipin-5, which are crucial for muscle metabolism and contraction.
Why Does Timing Matter?
Fatigue is often linked to disruptions in circadian rhythms, the body’s natural 24-hour cycle that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and metabolism. Aligning eating habits with these rhythms helps maintain balance, boosting muscle performance and cognitive function.
A Promising Lifestyle Intervention
Clinical trials have shown that circadian nutrition is safe and effective for managing metabolic diseases. This approach could now extend to addressing fatigue, offering a simple and practical solution for an increasingly fatigued population.
The growing body of evidence highlights the importance of understanding how meal timing interacts with our internal clocks. As research continues, circadian nutrition could become a cornerstone of strategies to reduce fatigue and improve overall well-being.
By embracing the science of circadian rhythms and meal timing, individuals may find a new “elixir” for combating fatigue and leading more energetic lives.
According to a new Cornell University study, chronic fatigue syndrome creates conditions where pathogen-killing immune T cells become exhausted.
The study’s authors were aware that the immune system is dysregulated in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Still, they sought to identify which specific components were affected by the condition. Through a systematic exploration, they discovered that key CD8+ T cells exhibited one of the most significant signs of dysregulation. These cells showed evidence of continuous stimulation, which ultimately leads to an exhausted state—a phenomenon that has been extensively studied in cancer.
“This is an important discovery for ME/CFS because it allows us to examine T cells more closely. By investigating the exhausted cells, we hope to gain insights into what they are responding to,” said Andrew Grimson, a professor of molecular biology and co-corresponding author of the study. Maureen Hanson, a molecular biology and genetics professor, is the corresponding author.
“Therapies have been developed to reverse T cell exhaustion as treatments for cancer,” Hanson stated. “Our findings raise the question of whether these anti-exhaustion drugs could also be beneficial for ME/CFS.”
Hanson added that there is strong evidence for T cell exhaustion in ME/CFS, which has also been observed in long COVID.
“According to Hanson, immune cells from patients with ME/CFS showed elevated levels of surface proteins that are typical of exhausted cells. This exhaustion can result from prolonged exposure to a viral protein or ongoing stimulation of the immune system, a condition also observed in cancer patients.”
Future work will try to determine whether a virus is involved, which is currently not known. “We need to understand what is pushing them to this exhausted state,” Grimson said.
The team also plans to take cells from patients and controls, purify those cells, treat patients with drugs that reverse exhaustion, and see if the immune cells resume normal function. If CD8+ T cell exhaustion can be reversed, the next question is whether such reversal benefits a patient, as exhaustion can have protective qualities.
UC Berkeley researchers have developed earpieces that detect brain activity associated with relaxation and drowsiness.
Ryan Kaveh/UC Berkeley
It’s important to remember the following text: “Many people experience sleepiness at work, particularly after a large meal. However, drowsiness can pose a serious danger for individuals in roles that involve driving or operating heavy machinery, potentially leading to fatal accidents. In the U.S., drowsy driving results in hundreds of deadly vehicle crashes each year, and the National Safety Council has identified drowsiness as a significant risk in the construction and mining industries.”
Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed prototype earbuds capable of detecting signs of drowsiness in the brain to protect drivers and machine operators from the dangers of falling asleep at the wheel.
The earbuds detect brain waves similar to an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test doctors use to measure electrical activity in the brain. While most EEGs use electrodes attached to the head to detect brain waves, the earbuds have built-in electrodes designed to make contact with the ear canal for the same purpose.
The electrical signals detected by the earbuds are smaller than those picked up by a traditional EEG. However, a new study by the researchers shows that their Ear EEG platform is sensitive enough to detect alpha waves, a pattern of brain activity that increases when you close your eyes or start to fall asleep.
“I was inspired when I bought my first pair of Apple’s AirPods in 2017. I immediately thought, ‘What an amazing platform for neural recording,'” said study senior author Rikky Muller, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. “We believe that this technology has many potential uses. Classifying drowsiness is a good indicator that the technology can be used to classify sleep and even diagnose sleep disorders.”
Using an earbud as an EEG electrode presents several practical challenges. The electrodes must maintain good contact with the skin to obtain an accurate EEG reading. This is relatively simple to achieve with traditional EEGs, which use flat metal electrodes attached to the scalp. However, it is more challenging to design an earbud that will fit securely and comfortably in ears of various sizes and shapes.
“When Muller’s team began working on the project, other groups developing Ear EEG platforms used wet electrode gels to ensure a good seal between the earbud and the ear canal or create custom-moulded earpieces for each user. She and her team aimed to design a dry and universally applicable model, allowing anyone to insert them in their ears and obtain reliable readings.”
“My personal goal was to create a device that could be used daily by individuals who would greatly benefit from it,” explained Ryan Kaveh, a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley and co-first author of the study. “To achieve this, I understood that it needed to be reusable, adaptable to various people, and simple to manufacture.”
Kaveh co-led the study with graduate student Carolyn Schwendeman and collaborated with Ana Arias’s lab at UC Berkeley to design the final earpiece in three sizes: small, medium, and large. The earpiece incorporates multiple electrodes in a cantilevered design that applies gentle outward pressure to the ear canal and uses flexible electronics to ensure a comfortable fit. The signals are read through a custom, low-power, wireless electronic interface.
In a 2020 paper, researchers demonstrated that these earpieces can detect various physiological signals, such as eye blinks, alpha brain waves, and the auditory steady-state response, which is the brain’s reaction to hearing a constant pitch. In the new study, they enhanced the earpiece design and utilized machine learning to show how the earpieces could be applied in real-world scenarios.
During the experiment, nine volunteers were asked to wear earpieces while performing mundane tasks in a dimly lit room. Periodically, the volunteers rated their level of drowsiness and measured their response times.
“We discovered that even when the signal quality from the earpieces appeared to be worse, we were still able to accurately detect the onset of drowsiness, just as effectively as much more complicated, bulky systems,” Kaveh explained. The earpieces also maintain their accuracy when identifying drowsiness in new users, a feature that makes them suitable for use right out of the box.”
“Developed with the support of the Bakar Fellowship and the Bakar Prize, Muller is continuing to refine the design of the Ear EEG and explore other potential applications of the device. In addition to recording EEG signals, the device can also record other signals such as heartbeats, eye movements, and jaw clenches.”
“We constantly wear wireless earbuds,” Muller explained. “That’s what makes Ear EEG so compelling. It doesn’t require anything extra.”
A study led by the University of Eastern Finland has discovered that patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) experience lower levels of fatigue when they are in better physical condition and engage in higher daily activity. The study also revealed that lower disability rates were linked to reduced fatigue. These findings were published in the esteemed journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.
Fatigue is a prevalent symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but evaluating its impact on patients’ daily lives can be difficult. The study aimed to explore the connection between fatigue in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and their physical activity levels measured by accelerometers, as well as their level of disability.
The study utilized various measurement methods, including an accelerometer to measure physical activity, two different meters (MFIS and FSS) to measure fatigue, and two methods (EDSS and MSFC) to assess disability. Additionally, the study involved various physical performance tests.
Patients with a disability level of 0–2.5, considered moderately low, had higher fatigue levels than healthy controls, but lower fatigue levels than patients with a higher disability level (EDSS 3-5.5). There was a significant relationship found between fatigue and disability, as well as between daily physical activity and fatigue. A lower disability level, better physical condition, and higher daily activity were predictive of lower fatigue levels.
Fatigue plays a significant role in MS and has a strong impact on, for example, patients’ ability to work and premature retirement. This is of great importance socially.
“The findings are interesting and support previous studies very well,” says Doctoral Researcher Marko Luostarinen of the University of Eastern Finland. “Patients with MS should find a suitable form of exercise, taking into account their disability, which maintains their functional capacity and reduces fatigue.”
“This study is unique because it was large and used modern methods. However, more detailed research into patients’ disability and actual physical activity levels is needed,” points out Luostarinen.
A recent study provides insights into how to define, assess, and address fatigue related to multiple sclerosis (MS).
Kessler Foundation research scientist John DeLuca, PhD, has recently published a crucial clinical article in the Journal of Neurology. The article sheds light on the elusive nature of fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its implications for treatment. The study provides a comprehensive review of current challenges in defining, measuring, and treating MS-related fatigue, offering new insights and directions for future research.
It sheds light on the complex nature of fatigue in multiple sclerosis, underscoring the challenges in accurately defining and effectively measuring it. Dr. DeLuca found more than 250 scales used to assess fatigue but noticed significant content validity issues, which raised concerns about their reliability.
“Ou” ability to define, measure, and treat fatigue in MS has only marginally improved despite over a century of research,”” said Dr. DeLuca, senior vice president for research and training at the Foundation. “The study underscores the need for innovative approaches to understand better and address this complex symptom. It also highlights distinguishing fatigue from other related symptoms and developing more precise measurement tools. Addressing these challenges is crucial for improving the quality of life for individuals with MS.”
F”tigue affects up to 90 per cent of individuals with MS, significantly impacting their daily lives. Despite its prevalence, defining fatigue remains challenging due to its subjective and multifaceted nature. The article reviews historical and contemporary definitions of fatigue, critiques existing measurement tools for their lack of clarity and consistency, and explores the subjective nature of fatigue and its correlation with other symptoms such as depression, pain, and cognitive complaints.
Furthermore, Dr. DeLuca examines the brabrain’sle in fatigue, proposing that disruptions in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop contribute to central fatigue. “Ad”anced MRI imaging techniques have shown that central fatigue correlates with disruptions in this brain network. Recent research indicates that motivational incentives can reduce fatigue by stimulating the frontostriatal network, suggesting new potential treatment approaches,” h” emphasized.
How Can We Treat Fatigue? The study discusses pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for fatigue in MS. Pharmacological treatments, such as amantadine, modafinil, and methylphenidate, have shown limited effectiveness. In contrast, the article also explores non-pharmacological treatments for fatigue, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and exercise, which have demonstrated moderate to significant effects in reducing fatigue symptoms. The potential of novel approaches involving the brabrain’sward system is also mentioned, suggesting that motivational incentives could play a crucial role in managing fatigue in MS patients.
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