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New Delhi: According to a study, people who sleep only three to five hours a day may have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The research, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, also shows that chronic lack of sleep cannot be compensated for by healthy eating alone.
“In general, I recommend prioritizing sleep, although I understand that is not always possible, especially as a parent of four teenagers,” said Christian Benedict, associate professor at Uppsala University and lead researcher on the study.
The team examined the link between type 2 diabetes and lack of sleep. Type 2 diabetes affects the body’s ability to process sugar (glucose), making it difficult to absorb insulin and causing high blood sugar levels.
A 2020 study showed that more than 462 million people suffer from this disease. Over time, it can cause serious damage, particularly to nerves and blood vessels, and therefore represents a growing public health problem worldwide.
“Previous research has shown that repeated short daily rest increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, while healthy eating habits, such as regularly eating fruits and vegetables, can reduce the risk,” said Diana Noga, a sleep researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences of Uppsala. University.
“However, it is unclear whether people who get too little sleep can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by eating healthy,” Noga said in a statement.
The researchers used data from one of the world’s largest population databases, the UK Biobank, in which almost half a million UK participants were genetically mapped and answered health and lifestyle questions.
They followed participants for more than 10 years and found that a sleep duration of between three and five hours was linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In contrast, healthy eating habits led to a lower risk of developing the disease, but even people who ate healthily but slept less than six hours a day still had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Our results are the first to call into question whether a healthy diet can compensate for lack of sleep in terms of type 2 diabetes risk. They should not be a cause for concern, but rather be seen as a reminder that sleep plays an important role.” in health.” Benito added.