Circadian Misalignment Can Lead to Disease.

• Position: BODY CLOCK

Night-shift workers face an increased risk of obesity and diabetes, but the underlying reason for that has been a mystery. Now, University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers have found a potential cause for metabolic changes during night-shift work that creates confusion between cells in the body and the central clock in the brain.

"The cells in your body do not adjust as quickly as the central clock in the brain to shifts in sleep patterns," says chair David Gozal. "So, when night-shift workers abruptly shift back and forth to daytime hours on the weekend, the cells in the body continue to send messages to each other...