Never has science offered such a great excuse to stay in bed and not see anyone until after lunch!
While studying ways to help ensure that there aren’t any pandemics, Scientists infected subject with the flu; some were exposed in the morning and others exposed in the afternoon. The results were that ten times the amount of subjects that were infected in the morning got sick.
Talking to the BBC, researcher Prof Akhilesh Reddy said: “It’s a big difference.” He continued “The virus needs all the apparatus available at the right time, otherwise it might not ever get off the ground, but a tiny infection in the morning might perpetuate faster and take over the body.”
So the next time you are on public transport, or in line for a coffee, in the morning and someone sneezes, and you think “Yup, I’m sick now,” you are more likely to be correct.
The afternoons are not totally off the hook, however, as researchers say that other factors such as jet-lag and shift working can throw off the body’s clock and cause more virus infections.
Another researcher, Dr Rachel Edgar 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.” She concluded, “If so, then they could be prime candidates for receiving the annual flu vaccines.”
So if you read the science right, it’s the perfect excuse to stay in bed or lounge on the couch with a book and a cuppa until after lunch. Sounds perfect. Now if they can prove wine amplifies the morning resistance even better. Get on that science.