Scientists recently discovered that skin cells heal more efficiently during the day. They published their findings in Science Translational Medicine. Following is a transcript of the video.
Scientists have discovered something astonishing. Our skin heals faster if we're wounded during the day.
Records of burn injuries show that nighttime burns took 11 days longer to heal. Daytime burns healed in about 17 days. But nighttime burns took 28 days to heal.
Scientists think it has to do with our circadian clocks. Circadian clocks were thought to only exist in the brain. But these new results indicate that our skin cells follow a daily rhythm, too.
To test this theory, they studied a type of skin cell called fibroblasts. Fibroblasts rush to a fresh wound and jump-start the healing process. In the study, twice as many fibroblasts fled to daytime wounds compared to nighttime wounds. Which meant night wounds had fewer initial cells for healing.
So far, the scientists have conducted studies in petri dishes and mice. They emphasized more research is needed to confirm the results. But if confirmed, it would revolutionize the medical community.