Dark Chocolate Indulgence and Good Night Sleep May Be Linked: Study

According to the scientists, eating plenty of dark chocolate can increase magnesium levels in your body that is responsible for keeping the body clock in sync with time. As a result, if you enjoy a little indulgence, it can help your body adapt to day and night rhythms better.

This nutrient can also be found in green leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, fish, beans, avocados, bananas, dried fruit and whole grains. Not many people know that magnesium is vital to every function and tissue in the body that supports healthy immune system, prevent cancer and also reduce the risk of heart rate.

But the latest study adds another feather to it crown as it seems that magnesium also helps in controlling the way cells cope with natural cycle of day and night. It is also expected to be connected to the way our body responds to daily cycles such as circadian rhythms, hormone release, and other crucial body functions. Although you can consume magnesium via supplements, experts say that the most preferable way to make up for the body needs is to get it naturally from your diet.

It is no news that magnesium is essential to help humans convert food into fuel. However, the new study, published in journal Nature, also shows how it controls the other biological functions and that too efficiently.

Dr Gerben van Ooijen, of Edinburgh University, said: "Internal clocks are fundamental to all living things.

"They influence many aspects of health and disease in our own bodies but equally in crop plants and micro-organisms.

"It's now essential to find out how these fundamentally novel observations translate to whole tissue or organisms to make us better equipped to influence them in complex organisms for future medical and agricultural purposes."

Co-author Dr John O'Neill, of Cambridge University, added: "Although the clinical relevance of magnesium in various tissues is beginning to garner more attention how magnesium regulates our body's internal clock and metabolism has simply not been considered before.

"The new discovery could lead to a whole range of benefits spanning human health to agricultural productivity."