Bad sleep patterns could increase diabetes risk

Tue, 24 Jan 2012
A new study has found that people who do not sleep well, and have disturbed nights at least three times each week, are at a greater risk of developing conditions such as obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease.

The research, by scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, which was published in the Journal of Sleep Research, examined data from more than 130,000 people. It showed that general sleep disturbance, including having difficulty falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much, could also be partly responsible for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders developing in the first place.

Those with disturbed sleep on at least three nights per week on average were shown to be at a 54 per cent risk of diabetes, 35 per cent were more likely to be obese, 98 per cent were more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease, 80 per cent were more likely to have had a heart attack, while 102 per cent were more likely to have suffered a stroke.

Lead author on the study, Michael Grandner, commented "Previous studies have demonstrated that those who get less sleep are more likely to also be obese, have diabetes or cardiovascular disease, and are more likely to die sooner, but this new analysis has revealed that other sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or even too much sleep, are also associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health issues."

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