Risk of sleep deprivation favors diabetes

Sleep deprivation due to sleep disorders may favor the onset of type II diabetes

04/12/2012

Lack of sleep leads to an increased risk of diabetes. That's what US researchers found out through a study. Inadequate sleep also favors the development of overweight, according to the journal „Science Translational Medicine“, in which the study results were published. Especially shift workers are at risk.

Lack of sleep slows down metabolic processes at rest
That lack of sleep can not only lead to poor concentration but also promotes pancreatic underdeviation, Orfeu Buxton from Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston and his team recently found. People working in shifts and frequent flyers are at increased risk for type II diabetes. Researchers say sleep deprivation and a shift in the day-night rhythm cause disruption to the internal clock. This could cause the pancreas to produce only a smaller amount of insulin and concentrate the sugar in the blood. Diabetes can be triggered by the increased blood sugar level. In addition, the researchers observed a slowed down metabolism in the subjects. This can promote the emergence of overweight.

For the study, 21 subjects were hospitalized and examined for nearly six weeks. The scientists deliberately influenced their sleep and waking times by determining when and how much the study participants were allowed to sleep. In addition, they fixed the diet. While the subjects got enough sleep in the first few days, the sleep duration was subsequently reduced to 5.6 hours per 24 hours for three weeks. The participants were supposed to sleep at night and sometimes during the day. The researchers were able to observe that the metabolism during rest periods slowed significantly due to the lack of sleep and the irregularity of sleep. The body burned fewer calories. For one year, this would have led to a weight gain of almost six kilos in the subjects, the scientists report.

Lack of sleep leads to increased blood sugar levels
After meals, the subjects also had a higher glucose content in the blood. It is believed that the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas only produce lower levels of insulin. The researchers showed in some subjects so high blood sugar levels that could be spoken of a precursor to diabetes, a so-called pre-diabetes.

After the subjects for nine days slept sufficiently and in a regular rhythm, the abnormalities disappeared, it says in the journal „Science Translational Medicine“. The researchers write that their findings underpin earlier studies. „It has been proven that adequate sleep is important for your health and that the best time to sleep is at night“, reports Buxton.

Causes of lack of sleep
Lack of sleep is a serious health problem. Without sleep no one can survive. Why humans need to sleep, however, has not yet been clearly explained scientifically.

More and more people in Germany suffer from sleep disorders and corresponding lack of sleep, with sometimes serious health consequences. The sleep research, the so-called somnology, now knows about 80 different sleep disorders that can range from sleep difficulties, through slumber problems to sleepwalking. The most common causes of sleep disorders are stress and mental discomfort, followed by pain and noise. Stress often refers to stress at work and worries about the workplace as a trigger for sleep disorders. (Ag)

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