Our body burns up to 10% more calories in the late afternoon than in the early morning when the metabolic rate is lower. This is the main conclusion of a study that analyzes how the circadian rhythm affects human metabolism.
The journal Current Biology published research showing that energy expenditure not only depends on diet, exercise and the number of hours we sleep, but also on our biological clock.
According to the study, led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the resting metabolic rate, which constitutes between 60% and 70% of daily energy expenditure in most sedentary adults, varies depending on the circadian rhythm.
