Problem
You sleep kinda poorly—what’s the worst that can happen?
Reality
You might be more susceptible to diabetes if you sleep poorly, according to a study in Diabetologia.
Method
Researchers know that higher levels of circulating non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations are associated with insulin resistance, which plays a key role in the development in diabetes.
So, they had nineteen young men in sleep in lab-controlled conditions for four consecutive nights. In randomised order, the men slept normally (eight hours and change) and poorly (four hours). Researchers took blood samples, cataloguing NEFA, growth hormones, norepinephrine, cortisol, glucose, and insulin.
Result
Nights of poor sleep resulted in an increase in NEFA levels during the night. This resulted in a slew of hormonal changes and decreased insulin sensitivity.
The Takeaway
Obviously, one night of bad sleep won’t give you the ‘beetus. But making a habit of poor sleep puts you at risk of diabetes, and future you will probably thank present you for making good sleep a priority.
