Study Finds Viruses Are 'More Dangerous' During Mornings
- 8 years ago
The time of day we get exposed to viruses can influence our susceptibility to infection, finds a new study by Cambridge University researchers.
The time of day we get exposed to viruses can influence our susceptibility to infection, finds a new study by Cambridge University researchers.
According to the recently published paper, a morning infection can be the most dangerous, with a 10 times higher rate of replication than a disease passed on later in the day.
The reason for this variation is the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock; it changes throughout the day which means that the cellular resources the virus needs to multiply also fluctuate.
To establish this link, researchers “infected [mice] with herpes virus at different times of the day, measuring levels of virus infection and spread.”
They found out that the subjects exposed in the beginning of their natural cycles had "much more severe acute infection" than those that were infected ten hours later.
Researchers also discovered that disrupted body cycles enable a virus to multiply regardless of the time of day which could mean that shift employees are more susceptible to illness as a result.
The time of day we get exposed to viruses can influence our susceptibility to infection, finds a new study by Cambridge University researchers.
According to the recently published paper, a morning infection can be the most dangerous, with a 10 times higher rate of replication than a disease passed on later in the day.
The reason for this variation is the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock; it changes throughout the day which means that the cellular resources the virus needs to multiply also fluctuate.
To establish this link, researchers “infected [mice] with herpes virus at different times of the day, measuring levels of virus infection and spread.”
They found out that the subjects exposed in the beginning of their natural cycles had "much more severe acute infection" than those that were infected ten hours later.
Researchers also discovered that disrupted body cycles enable a virus to multiply regardless of the time of day which could mean that shift employees are more susceptible to illness as a result.