Women who are trying to start a family often think about their biological clock, but new research shows they might need to be thinking about their body clocks too!

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Research carried out by body clock expert Dr Fred Turek has found a clear link between body clock disruption and the ability to fall pregnant naturally.

Dr Turek found that repeated changes in the light-dark cycles of mice led to problems with getting pregnant – and the more their body clock was disrupted the more the chances of them falling pregnant fell. They found that repeatedly shifting the light-dark cycle severely disrupts the body's natural clock, and in turn affects fertility. Only 22% of mice who had severely disrupted body clocks fell pregnant, compared to 90% of the mice without disrupted cycles.

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Dr Turek says: 'Our results have important implications for the reproductive health of female shift workers, women with circadian rhythm sleep disorders and/or women with disturbed circadian rhythms for other reasons.' Dr Keith Summa, who worked on the study, added: 'Our results suggest people should consider their biological rhythms for optimal health.'

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