This research is being done to study how eating dinner at different times affects your health.  The timing of meals may be important for weight control and heart health. Eating your meals later in the day is linked with risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease, but doctors do not understand why late eating might lead to these problems. Previous studies on this matter have not taken into account differences in people’s internal clock.  We will test the effects of eating a early dinner and a late dinner based on when your body transitions from day to night. We will also test if delaying sleep for several hours will help your night time metabolism. The total calories served will be the same – only the dinner timing is changed on three visits.  We are looking for healthy young adult volunteers to participate.

To participate, you must:

• Be 18-30 years old
• Have a regular bedtime before 1:00 AM
• NOT have any sleep disorder (such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome)
• NOT be obese (BMI < 30)
• NOT have diabetes
• NOT take medications that can affect your sleep
• NOT smoke
• NOT be pregnant or breastfeeding

The study includes:

•   Four visits to the laboratory,  three requiring two consecutive overnight stays
• Wearing a actigraphy watch before the overnight visits (measures movement)
•   Questionnaires
•   Meals and a snack at specific times
•   Drinking a beverage with non-radioactive “tracer”
•   Sleep studies (measures your movements, breathing, and brainwaves overnight)
•   IV placement and blood samples
•   A DEXA bone scan (to measure your body composition)
•   Pregnancy test for female participants

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