Consuming a nutritious daily diet and taking a daily vitamin supplement are two ways that a woman can increase her chances of conceiving a baby, according to most health authorities. Now, new research has suggested that getting into a harmful circadian rhythm, and thus eating at the wrong times of day, may decrease fertility.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine came to this tentative conclusion after noticing that fruit flies put on abnormal daily sleeping and eating schedules tended to produce fewer offspring.

These results, which appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism, were not conclusive in regard to humans but pointed to the potential for circadian rhythms to disrupt a woman’s fertility cycle.

The team noted that one’s daily schedule affects sleep, eating habits, stress levels, metabolism and body temperature. Many of these factors have previously been connected to fertility.

Feeding flies at two unusual times of day discouraged the production of eggs and seemed to disrupt the expression of DNA related to the body’s internal clock, scientists concluded.

Besides getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy meals, women who are or may become pregnant may consider taking dietary supplements containing folate, a nutrient also known as vitamin B9, according to the National Institutes of Health.