Health & Medicine - Posted by Kelly Parkes-Harrison-Warwick on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 13:30 - 4 Comments 
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Short sleepers face health risks
This study is the first to look at the association between sleep duration and IFG, a pre-diabetic state. "We found that short sleep—less than six hours—was associated with a significant, three-fold increased likelihood of developing IFG, compared to people who got an average of six to eight hours sleep a night," says lead author Saverio Stranges. (Credit: iStockphoto)
U. WARWICK (UK)—People who sleep less than six hours a night may be three times more likely to develop a condition that leads to diabetes and heart disease, according to new research.
Share this article
Email
Republish this article
The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
A study by a team of researchers from the University of Warwick and the University at Buffalo finds short sleep duration is associated with an elevated risk of a pre-diabetic state, known as incident-impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG). Details were reported recently in the Annals of Epidemiology journal.
The condition means that your body isn’t able to regulate glucose as efficiently as it should. People with IFG have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and are at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
The researchers looked at six years of data from 1,455 participants in the Western New York Health Study.
All participants were between the ages of 35 and 79 years old, and all completed a clinical examination that included measures of resting blood pressure, height, and weight. They also completed questionnaires about their general health and wellbeing and sleeping patterns.
“We found that short sleep—less than six hours—was associated with a significant, three-fold increased likelihood of developing IFG, compared to people who got an average of six to eight hours sleep a night,” says lead author Saverio Stranges of the Warwick Medical School.
This study is the first to look at the association between sleep duration and IFG. Stranges says there were a number of ways in which sleep loss could lead to disordered glucose metabolism.
“Previous studies have shown that short sleep duration results in a 28 percent increase in mean levels of the appetite stimulating hormone ghrelin so it can affect feeding behaviors. Other studies have also shown that a lack of sleep can decrease glucose tolerance and increases the production of cortisol, a hormone produced in response to stress.
“More research is needed but our study does suggest a very strong correlation between lack of sleep and type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” Stranges adds.
More news from the University of Warwick: www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/
Please wait
4 Comments
I’m sure this has something to do with elevated cortisol levels.
Frances Morey
I awaken after six hours no matter when I go to sleep. So I have to assume that is what my body needs. I am retired, in good health, good spirits, eat right, exercise and don’t wake up to an alarm clock. Not having to be somewhere first thing in the morning is my happiness elixir–I love being retired. I once heard that the older one gets the less sleep is needed–there may be something to that. I eat according to a diabetic regimen–having a small meal every four or five hours throughout my time awake. I believe this not only prevents diabetes but is palliative if you happen to have it.
KarenSC
This backs up my lack of losing baby-weight the second time around due to chronic lack of sleep. Know I was eating more than I should have and often consuming caffinated sodas to stay awake. Also, just too tired to fit in exercise. Hoping that I’m now getting more sleep (although it’s still often disturbed) that I’ll be able to get a handle on the weight thing. Also hoping that the damage done to my body over the past 3 years will be reversible!
Were the affected participants more likely to be overweight? As a practicing physician I have long thought that one of the “social ills” that afflict us is a lack of sleep which, in turn, underlies many of the disorders we associate with modern life: depression, fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases, metabolic syndrome and now type 2 DM. A study that integrated a full sleep profile with this array of disorders would be interesting.