Altered mealtimes linked to depression and anxiety in shift workers

A new study of airline workers has found that people need to eat at set times or risk developing anxiety or depression.

Delaying breakfast or dinner increases the risk of developing a mood disorder, researchers report.

The study also found that limiting meals to a 12-hour “eating window” a day helps maintain a balanced mood, which is good news for people who practice intermittent fasting.

“An eating window of less than 12 hours may be associated with reduced severity of anxiety or depression,” concluded the research team led by Mi Xiang, an associate professor at Shanghai Jio Tong University in China.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 22,600 airline crew members who participated in an ongoing health survey of employees at China’s largest airlines.

The team recorded when participants ate breakfast and dinner and how much time elapsed between meals.

They then compared that data to the crew members’ scores on screening instruments for anxiety and depression.

The results showed that people who worked day shifts and didn’t eat their evening meal until after 8pm were twice as likely to be depressed and 78% more likely to be anxious, compared to people who ate before 8pm. published July 17 in the diary JAMA Network Opened.

The results showed that delaying breakfast until after 9am increased the risk of depression by 73% and anxiety by 79%.

Research has shown that people who worked night shifts or had a day off were also at greater risk of anxiety or depression as a result of eating too late.

The link between delayed meals and bad mood was also seen in people whose meals were jet-lagged, the results showed. Any delay caused an increased risk of anxiety or depression.

“We found that the dietary patterns of individuals in this occupation varied depending on the time of flight operation [early morning or late night]”, the researchers wrote. “These irregular eating patterns were associated with increased risk of anxiety and depression.”

However, people who ate all their meals within a 12-hour window every day were 16% less likely to have anxiety and 19% less likely to have depression, compared to people who ate earlier and later in the day.

The research team hypothesized that changes in mealtimes could affect the body’s sleep/wake cycle, also known as circadian rhythm, which could lead to metabolic changes that could ultimately affect mood.

They also noted that the effects of delayed meals on airline crews may be even more severe for average people.

“Through intensive training and resilience building, flight crews are expected to be better able to handle stress and cope with emergencies than average workers,” the researchers wrote in a news release from the American Psychiatric Association.

“For a typical shift worker, the psychological consequences may therefore be more severe,” they concluded.

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