Late night snacking could be damaging your skin: Study reveals

If you're a late-night snacker, listen up! Eating at abnormal times can have a negative effect on your skin. We already know that there are links between what you eat and your skin but new research has revealed that the time you eat also has an impact.

A study conducted at the O’Donnell Brain Institute and UC Irvine, and published in the journal Cell Reports, found that people who eat late at night may be more vulnerable to sunburn and longer-term effects such as skin aging and skin cancer. This is because irregular eating patterns affect the skin’s biological clock and reduces the effectiveness of enzyme XPA, which repairs UV damage.

According to researchers, people who ate at an abnormal time suffered more skin damage than those who ate at usual meal times. It is likely that if you have a normal eating schedule, then you will be better protected from UV rays during the daytime but if you have an odd eating schedule, it can cause a harmful shift in your skin clock.