It is not just unhealthy food or sedentary lifestyle, but lack of sleep can also put you at risk of developing diabetes. Researchers followed the participants for over ten years and found compared to people who slept the recommended seven to eight hours daily, individuals who slept five hours per day had a 16% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Those who got only three to four hours of sleep daily faced a 41% higher risk. The study suggests that healthy eating did little to lower the risk in people who had an extremely short sleep duration. Type 2 diabetes, more common in older adults, affects the body’s ability to process sugar (glucose), hindering insulin absorption and resulting in high blood sugar levels.
The study says lack of sleep may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes through various mechanisms, such as impaired cellular insulin sensitivity and altered gut-microbiota composition ( in gastrointestinal tract) among others.
After three nights of getting only four hours of sleep, blood levels of fatty acids, which usually peak and then recede overnight, remained elevated from about 4 am to 9 am. As long as fatty acid levels remained high, the ability of insulin to regulate blood sugars was reduced.
“Lack of sleep may indeed contribution to the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. But there are other factors in play as well, for example genetic predisposition, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating. While genetics cannot be changed, one can certainly reduce the risk of developing diabetes by a combination of proper sleep, diet and exercise. Unfortunately, most of these are in short supply in Indians.”
India has more than 101 million people living with diabetes compared to 70 million people in 2019. They are increasing at an alarming rate in many others, “warranting urgent state-specific interventions.”
Lack of sleep is quite common in urban areas. Factors such as work schedule, stress, economic pressure and social media use play a role. But we need to find ways to improve this to reduce the risk of health issues it is associated with.
