Sunburn could be caused by poor eating habits

A study has found that those who eat late at night may be more at risk of sunburn and long-term effects such as skin ageing and skin cancer.

Researchers from the O’Donnell Brain Institute fed mice during the day, which is an unusual eating time for the nocturnal animal, and their usual evening time to compare their susceptibility to skin damage. The results, published in Cell Reports, found that mice given food only during the day had higher levels of skin damage when exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) light than during the night.

The enzyme that repairs UV-damaged skin — xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) — is less active during the day for mice. However, mice that ate at their usual times did not exhibit altered XPA cycles and were therefore less vulnerable to daytime UV rays.

“It is likely that if you have a normal eating schedule, then you will be better protected from UV during the daytime,” said Dr Joseph Takahashi, chairman of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. “If you have an abnormal eating schedule, that could cause a harmful shift in your skin clock, like it did in the mouse.”

Meal times have a vital role in the overall health of a person, as previous research has indicated it can affect the daily cycles of metabolic organs such as the liver, and it can impact skin biology. While it is not clear what controls the skin’s daily rhythm, Takahashi’s study found that varied eating schedules may impact the expression of 10% of the skin’s genes.

However, Dr Andersen, Professor of Biological Chemistry, who led the collaborative study with Dr Takahashi, was careful to highlight that this study focused purely on mice.

“It’s hard to translate these findings to humans at this point,” said Dr Andersen.

Therefore, while late-night snacking may be considered harmless, it could be detrimental to a person’s skin health. It disrupts the daily skin cycle and decreases the effectiveness of an enzyme that protects against UV light.

Dr Takahashi stated, “I did not think the skin was paying attention to when we are eating.”