Lack of sleep may increase diabetes risk, study finds

A new study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, published today in the journal Sleep, has found evidence that sleep loss can increase the risk of diabetes by causing an insulin resistance in youth.

The study was performed using 245 healthy high school students who varied in their sleep schedules, with results showing that there were no further linkages to race, gender or body mass. For one week, participants wore a wrist actigraph and kept a sleep log. Blood samples were also provided.

Actigraphs helped to pinpoint actual amounts of sleep, since a participant might write down that he had gone to bed at 10 p.m., for example, when he in fact didn't fall fully asleep until 10:30. Students marked average sleep at 7.4 hours with actigraphs showing an average of 6.4 sleeping hours a day.

When students slept less, their homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) increased. Sleep schedules that were fragmented showed no change in HOMA-IR, but did show changes in glucose levels. Researchers found that extra sleep did not increase HOMA-IR.

Children and adults can both develop type 2 diabetes as a result of lifestyle factors. Patients with type 2 diabetes may look to buy Actos. Other treatment medications are available from Canadian and online international pharmacies, often at a lower cost than U.S. outlets.

Sleep loss can cause a host of problems in addition to insulin resistance, including short-term memory loss and bone marrow degradation. Recent research also shows that sleep loss may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the National Institute of Health.