- Viruses breed and spread by hijacking the internal workings of our cells
- These are most active on a morning so germs find it easier to take hold
- Body is susceptible to viruses when the natural body clock is disrupted
- Preventative action like handwashing is ‘more important in the morning’
Fiona Macrae, Science Correspondent for the Daily Mail
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It has long been said that the early bird catches the worm.
But night owls may catch more coughs, colds and other infections.
British research suggests that we are more vulnerable to flu, the cold sore virus and other germs when our body clock is disrupted.
This could be due to shift work, burning the candle at both ends – or being a night owl forced into a nine to five routine.
The idea comes from Cambridge University researchers who showed the body to be more susceptible to infections at the start of the day than at the end.
People who work at night could be more likely to catch the flu and other viruses because the body clock is disrupted, a study by Cambridge University scientists has found
It is thought that changes to our biology that occur as our internal clock ticks affect viruses’ ability to breed and spread.
Viruses live, breed and spread by hijacking the internal workings of our cells.
This machinery is most active in the morning and so if the germs take it over then, they find it easier to take hold.
The researchers infected mice with a herpes virus at different times of the day.
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The virus, a relative of the cold sore bug, multiplied ten times as quickly in animals given the germ at sunrise than those infected late in the day.
When the scientists repeated the experiment in mice lacking a key body clock gene, the bug bred quickly, regardless of when it was given.
Dr Rachel Edgar, the first author, said: ‘This indicates that shift workers, who work some nights and rest some nights and so have a disrupted body clock, will be more susceptible to viral diseases.’
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also showed the flu virus to be under the control of the body clock.
The study looked at the herpes or ‘cold sore’ virus pictured and found the body’s cells were more susceptible to be taken over by viruses in the morning
Akhilesh Reddy, the study’s senior author, said that while the work was done in mice, people are also more likely to be more vulnerable to viruses in the early morning.
This means that simple measures, like thorough handwashing and moving away from people who are coughing and sneezing, might be more important then.
Professor Reddy said: ‘The time of day of infection can have a major influence on how susceptible we are to the disease, or at least on the viral replication, meaning that infection at the wrong time of day could cause a much more severe acute infection.
‘This is consistent with recent studies which have shown that the time of day that the influenza vaccine is administered can influence how effectively it works.’
The findings suggest people should particularly take preventative measures, such as washing their hands, on a morning
Intriguingly, body clock doesn’t just undergo changes over the course of the day it also speeds up and slows down over the course of the year.
This, say the researchers, could help explain why flu is more common in the winter than in the summer.
The work also raises hope of new medicines.
Flu and herpes have very different biology– and so finding that both are under control of the body clock raises hope of a new, one-size-fits-all, drug.
For instance, a drug that manipulates the clock to make it harder for germs to take hold could provide protection against multiple viruses.
Professor Reddy said: ‘Given that our body clocks appear to play a role in defending us from invading pathogens, their machinery may offer a new, universal drug target to help fight infection.’
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