Everyone who has spent a sleepless night knows from experience how hard it is to face daily activities the next day, so it is not surprising that science shows time and time again that sleeping well is key to enjoying physical and psychological well-being. . A new study has now found that the duration and quality of sleep influence the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Specifically, it reveals that sleeping less than six hours or more than 10 and poor quality sleep are associated with an increased risk to suffer from this pathology.
The new investigation has analyzed the effects that this inadequate sleep produces in the long term. “Most of the previous studies did not examine changes in various glycometabolic parameters, as we have done for 14 years. The pattern of changes in various glycemic parameters may provide clues to the mechanism underlying the association between sleep duration and incident diabetes mellitus,” said Dr. Wonjin Kim, from CHA Gangnam Medical Center and Associate Professor at the College. of Medicine from CHA University in Seoul (South Korea).
The researchers obtained data from 8,816 healthy individuals enrolled in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES)-Ansung and Ansan Cohort Study. The objective of this large consortium project being carried out by the Korean National Institute of Health is to develop medical care guidelines for non-communicable diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders or cancer. Their findings have been presented at ENDO 2023, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago (Illinois, USA).
Link Between Duration and Quality of Sleep and Diabetes
To carry out the new research, they divided people’s sleep duration into four groups: <6, 6-7, 8-9 and 9 hours a day. Sleep quality was also measured in those who slept more than 10 hours each day. They followed the participants for 14 years and, during that period, 18% of them (1630/8816) were diagnosed with diabetes.
“The increased risk of diabetes mellitus during prolonged sleep may be due to impaired pancreatic beta cell function caused by excessive sleepiness”
The authors observed a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and incident diabetes, finding that the highest risk was associated with sleep duration of ≥10 hours per day. This group also showed a decrease in the insulin glycemic index, which is a marker of insulin secretory function.
The risk of incident diabetes was increased among participants who slept less than 10 hours per day when their Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was >10. “Even if sleep duration is less than 10 hours, the chance of developing diabetes is higher when sleep quality decreases,” Kim said.
Speaking to Healthline, Kim has indicated that, in his opinion, the association between sleep and diabetes risk could be attributed to both insulin resistance and decreased insulin secretory function. “Considering that the main pathogenesis of [diabetes] type 2 is insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion, we hypothesize that the increased risk of diabetes mellitus during prolonged sleep may be due to impaired pancreatic beta cell function caused by excessive sleepiness ”. “Therefore, both short and long sleep duration, as well as poor sleep quality, could be a risk for diabetes,” he concludes.
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