Recent research suggests that people who wake up early may have a higher chance of developing anorexia nervosa, which is an eating disorder involving low weight, food restriction, and body image issues. The study indicates that those with anorexia nervosa tend to be early risers. It also shows a link between anorexia nervosa and a greater chance of having trouble sleeping. These findings highlight the need to better understand how sleep habits and eating disorders are connected.
As per the study highlighted in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, it was found that anorexia nervosa is linked to waking up early. This differs from other disorders such as depression, binge eating disorder, and schizophrenia.
Earlier studies signal a potential link between eating disorders and the body’s internal clock, commonly referred to as the circadian clock. This regulatory system oversees different biological functions, including sleep and exerts influence on nearly every organ in the body.
In a recent study, a global team of researchers, headed by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), found a connection between genes related to anorexia nervosa and genes linked to being a morning person (waking up early and going to bed early).
After investigating the connection to insomnia, scientists developed a ‘genetic risk score’ for anorexia nervosa. The results suggest that this genetic risk score is indeed connected to a higher chance of having insomnia.
Hassan S Dashti, an assistant investigator at MGH’s Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, and an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, explained, “Our study suggests that anorexia nervosa is more common in the morning, unlike many other mental health conditions that are usually more active in the evening. This connection reinforces the association between anorexia nervosa and trouble sleeping, as seen in earlier research.”
Treatment options for anorexia nervosa are few and existing treatments show relapse rates as high as 52 per cent. Compounding the difficulty is the unclear cause of the disease. With anorexia nervosa holding the second-highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders, there is an urgent need for additional research to explore new prevention strategies and treatments.
Hannah Wilcox, a researcher at MGH and the lead author, stated, “The practical impact of our recent findings is not fully clear yet. Still, our results could lead future research into investigating treatments that consider circadian rhythms for preventing and treating anorexia nervosa.”
Comments
0 comment