Sleeping less than 5 hours increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes

This is not the first time that lack of sleep has been linked to health problems. Thus, another study published in the journal JACC found that people who sleep less than six hours may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those who sleep seven to eight hours.

A new study examined the link between type 2 diabetes and lack of sleep among more than 247,000 UK residents

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Type 2 diabetes affects the body’s ability to process sugar (glucose), making it difficult to absorb insulin and causing high blood sugar.

A 2020 report found that more than 462 million people are affected by the disease. Over time, it can cause severe damage, especially to nerves and blood vessels, and is therefore a growing public health problem worldwide.

Healthy diet

“Previous research has shown that repeated short daily rest increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while healthy eating habits, such as regularly eating fruits and vegetables, can reduce the risk. However, it is unclear whether people who sleep too little can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they eat better, says Diana Noga, a researcher at Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University.

So the researchers used data from one of the world’s largest population databases, the UK Biobank, in which nearly half a million British participants were genetically mapped and answered questions about health and lifestyle. They followed participants for more than a decade and found that sleeping between three and five hours was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

In contrast, healthy eating habits led to a lower risk of developing the disease, but even people who ate healthy but slept less than six hours a day still had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“Our findings are the first to question whether a healthy diet can compensate for lack of sleep in terms of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. They should not be cause for concern, but rather should be seen as a reminder that sleep plays an important role. “health,” explains Benedict.

He also states that the effects of sleep deprivation vary from person to person and depend on aspects such as genetics and a person’s actual need for sleep.

Sleep duration is already a de facto parameter of cardiovascular disease. Thus, according to the American Heart Association, it joins the other seven traditional ones – smoking, physical activity, diet, obesity, blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure.