Sleep on This: Lack of Shut-Eye Ups Diabetes Risk
Sleep on This: Lack of Shut-Eye Ups Diabetes Risk
June 25, 2001 (Philadelphia) -- Need another reason to get your ZZZs? Well, here's one: People who don't get adequate rest may increase their risk for type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, according to research presented here at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
In a nutshell, lack of sleep puts undue stress on the body. The body, in turn, releases a torrent of stress hormones that interfere with the way blood sugar, or glucose, is processed.
As a result, inadequate sleep may lead to the development of insulin resistance, a prediabetes state in which the cells do not respond to insulin appropriately, so the sugar in the blood cannot get into the cells.
In a study of 27 people, "short-sleepers," or those who slept less than 6.5 hours per night, were about 40% less insulin-sensitive than normal sleepers, those who logged about 7.5 to 8.5 hours a night.
"It's a real possibility that one of the causes of the epidemic of diabetes and obesity is related to short sleep habits," says lead researcher Eve Van Cauter, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.
That's not good news considering that a majority of American adults -- 63% --fail to get the recommended eight hours in the sack, according to statistics from the National Sleep Foundation. Consider that in 1910, Americans averaged about nine hours of slumber per night, and now they're getting less than seven hours.
And sleep loss may worsen diabetes in people with disease, she says.
The next step is to see if extending sleep helps people with type 2 diabetes or those with higher than normal -- but not quite diabetic -- blood sugar levels, a condition called impaired glucose tolerance. This three-year study is slated to begin in September. Half of all patients will extend their sleep by three hours per night, while the others will learn about the importance of regular sleep habits.
"Americans are the most sleep-restricted society," she says, attributing this to people working multiple jobs, having long commutes, juggling family responsibilities, and being bombarded by round-the-clock television and Internet channels.
In a nutshell, lack of sleep puts undue stress on the body. The body, in turn, releases a torrent of stress hormones that interfere with the way blood sugar, or glucose, is processed.
As a result, inadequate sleep may lead to the development of insulin resistance, a prediabetes state in which the cells do not respond to insulin appropriately, so the sugar in the blood cannot get into the cells.
In a study of 27 people, "short-sleepers," or those who slept less than 6.5 hours per night, were about 40% less insulin-sensitive than normal sleepers, those who logged about 7.5 to 8.5 hours a night.
"It's a real possibility that one of the causes of the epidemic of diabetes and obesity is related to short sleep habits," says lead researcher Eve Van Cauter, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.
That's not good news considering that a majority of American adults -- 63% --fail to get the recommended eight hours in the sack, according to statistics from the National Sleep Foundation. Consider that in 1910, Americans averaged about nine hours of slumber per night, and now they're getting less than seven hours.
And sleep loss may worsen diabetes in people with disease, she says.
The next step is to see if extending sleep helps people with type 2 diabetes or those with higher than normal -- but not quite diabetic -- blood sugar levels, a condition called impaired glucose tolerance. This three-year study is slated to begin in September. Half of all patients will extend their sleep by three hours per night, while the others will learn about the importance of regular sleep habits.
"Americans are the most sleep-restricted society," she says, attributing this to people working multiple jobs, having long commutes, juggling family responsibilities, and being bombarded by round-the-clock television and Internet channels.
