Study has demonstrated that not getting enough hours of sleep affects the body's ability to manage blood sugar levels and appetite, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes, U.S. diabetes researchers reported as quoted by media Monday.
The researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center recruited five men and four women, all lean and healthy, who were between the ages of 20 and 31.
The participants were almost 25 percent less sensitive to insulin after nights of interrupted sleep. As their insulin sensitivity declined, they needed to make more insulin to process the same amount of glucose, or blood sugar.
However their bodies did not make more insulin. As a result, they had 23 percent more blood-glucose, the equivalent of glucose levels in an older adult with impaired glucose tolerance.
According to the researchers, three nights of interrupted sleep effectively gave people in their 20s the glucose and insulin metabolisms of people three times their age. Young adults who do not get enough deep sleep may be increasing their risk of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers suggested that improving the quality of sleep, especially for people as they age or if they are obese, could be an important step in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes.
They also found that the participants who typically had the least amount of slow-wave sleep during the nights experienced the greatest decline in insulin sensitivity during the study.
This current study provides the first evidence linking poor sleep quality -- specifically the loss of deep or slow-wave sleep -- to increased diabetes risk, said the team.
Source: Xinhua/agencies
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