Diabetes linked with a lack of sleep

Thu, 06 May 2010
According to one study, sleeping badly at night could be one of the major underlying causes of type 2 diabetes amongst adults. The study shows that restricting sleep to four hours per night could induce insulin resistance, one of the first signs of diabetes .

Dr. Esther Donga of the Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands, reportedly commented: "Sleep duration has shortened considerably in Western societies in the past decade and simultaneously there has been an increase in the prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes . The co-occurring rises in shortened sleep and diabetes prevalence may not be a coincidence. Our findings show a short night of sleep has more profound effects on metabolic regulation than previously appreciated."

The results, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, showed that cutting back on sleep lowered sensitivity to insulin. Donga reportedly continued: "Our data indicate that insulin sensitivity is not fixed in healthy subjects, but depends on the duration of sleep in the preceding night. In fact it is tempting to speculate that the negative effects of multiple nights of shortened sleep on glucose tolerance can be reproduced, at least in part, by just one sleepless night."

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