Weekday-Weekend Shifts of Light/Dark Regimen Extend Sleep and Lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster

Dec 30, 2025Nature and science of sleep

Changing Day and Night Schedules on Weekdays and Weekends Extends Sleep and Lifespan in Fruit Flies

AI simplified

Abstract

Significant differences were documented in locomotor activity, sleep duration, and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster exposed to a 4-hour shift in the light/dark cycle.

  • Under a 4-hour weekday-weekend shift in light exposure, Canton-S flies slept longer on weekdays compared to control flies.
  • Both strains of flies showed increased development time from eggs to imago and longer lifespans in the experimental condition.
  • The observed differences in sleep duration and lifespan were beneficial for the experimental flies.
  • Light-induced shifts in circadian timing do not appear to be harmful to survival or reproductive health in Drosophila melanogaster.

AI simplified

Key numbers

4 hours
Increase in Sleep Duration
Canton-S flies under experimental conditions compared to controls.
17×
Increase in Lifespan
Canton-S flies in experimental conditions compared to controls.

Full Text

We can’t show the full text here under this license. Use the link below to read it at the source.

what lands in your inbox each week:

  • 📚7 fresh studies
  • 📝plain-language summaries
  • direct links to original studies
  • 🏅top journal indicators
  • 📅weekly delivery
  • 🧘‍♂️always free