Ever find yourself forgetting to eat properly during the day and chowing down for your first meal late night?

It happens to the best of us. We already know that munching on food in the middle of the night has the potential to negatively affect our health, but now it appears that ordering that 4am 3in1 could actually be harming our skin too. And no, it doesn't just cause acne. According to research conducted by scientists over in Texas and California, eating at irregular times during the day could increase our chances of being harmed by ultraviolet rays. The study, which was conducted using mice, showed that having meals at weird times disrupts the skin's biological clock. This leads to the enzyme XPA (the one that repairs UV damage) becoming less powerful. The mice were given food during the day as opposed to the nighttime when, being nocturnal animals, they usually feed. The research found that these mice suffered more skin damage when exposed to UV lights compared to those that were fed are regular times. Authors of the study don't know why exactly this disruption occurs, and to be honest, they were as baffled as we were when they heard the news. Dr Joseph Takahashi from the University of Texas said he found the results of the experiment "surprising." "I did not think the skin was paying attention to when we are eating," he said.

 “It is likely that if you have a normal eating schedule, then you will be better protected from UV during the day time. If you have an abnormal eating schedule, that could cause a harmful shift in your skin clock, like it did in the mouse.”