Another reason why you need to get a good night's sleep every night is that consistent sleep may be the key to preventing type 2 diabetes.
This comes from US researchers who found that people with irregular sleep patterns are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with more consistent sleep patterns.
The study, led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, looked at sleep patterns over seven nights and then followed participants for more than seven years.
Scientists found that irregular sleep schedules were associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Those with the most irregular patterns had a 34 percent higher risk of diabetes than those with the least irregular patterns. After adjusting for a range of risk factors, researchers found that irregular sleep schedules were associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Photo: Shutterstock
A regular sleep pattern means going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
“Our study identifies modifiable lifestyle factors that may help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” said Sina Chianese, a research scientist in the Brigham Channing Network Medicine Division.
“Our findings highlight the importance of consistent sleep patterns as a strategy to reduce type 2 diabetes.”
Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 500 million people worldwide and is one of the top 10 causes of death and disability. The number of people with type 2 diabetes is expected to more than double to 1.3 billion by 2050.
The new study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, looked at the link between sleep and type 2 diabetes by analysing accelerometry data from more than 84,000 participants from the UK Biobank study, whose average age was 62 and who did not initially have diabetes.
Participants wore accelerometers (watch-like devices that monitor movement) for seven nights. They were followed for about seven and a half years, tracking the development of diabetes primarily through medical records.
Our findings have the potential to improve diabetes prevention at many levels.
After controlling for a variety of risk factors, the researchers found that irregular sleep patterns, defined as a variation of more than 60 minutes from average daily sleep duration, were associated with a higher risk of diabetes.
The data revealed that compared with participants with regular sleep patterns, those with irregular sleep patterns had a 34% higher risk of developing diabetes, and although the risk was reduced, it still remained present even after accounting for indicators of lifestyle, comorbidities, family history of diabetes, and obesity.
“Our findings have the potential to improve diabetes prevention at many levels,” Chianellsi said.
“Clinically, this may help improve patient care and treatment plans, and public health guidelines may encourage regular sleep patterns. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the mechanisms and confirm the results in other populations.”
