Peters blog

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Sleep and Diabetes

Many studies have linked poor sleep habits with a raised risk of diabetes. Now, new research indicates that regularly having trouble falling or staying asleep, can increase your risk of developing diabetes. The study is the largest study to date about sleep difficulty and type 2 diabetes. After taking into account other factors that increase diabetes risk, women who reported having trouble falling or staying asleep had about a 22 per cent increased risk of developing diabetes. The study found that women with sleep difficulty who also suffered from frequent snoring, sleep apnea or working the night shift had a 47 per cent increased diabetes risk compared to women with no sleep problems! In another small lab study, the sleep of nineteen healthy men was restricted to four and a half hours per night for four nights in a row. Their insulin sensitivity decreased and their diabetes risk increased. However, after just two nights of extra sleep, both measures returned to normal. That is a hopeful sign for those of us who have trouble sleeping!