New Study Finds Link Between Short Sleep and Diabetes

The researchers conducted the study using health, lifestyle, and genetic information from a database of about 500,000 U.K.-based participants collected between 2006 and 2010, with follow-up data from 2021, including any diabetes diagnoses among participants.

The scientists analyzed self-reported sleep times from nearly 250,000 adults and split them into four groups: normal sleepers (7-8 hours per night), mild short sleepers (6 hours per night), moderate short sleepers (5 hours per night), and extreme short sleepers (3-4 hours per night). 

The researchers also reviewed participants’ self-reported diets and assigned participants a number between 1 and 5, with 1 representing the most unhealthy diet and 5 as the healthiest. 

After taking into account factors that could affect a diabetes diagnosis, like gender, age, and race, they found that people who sleep less than 6 hours a night are at a significantly higher risk of diabetes, even if they stick to a balanced diet. 

So why can’t healthy eating make up for less sleep? The authors suggest there may be more than one reason. Lack of sleep can boost cortisol levels, Trusted Source Science Direct The leading platform of peer-reviewed literature that helps you move your research forward. View Source make it harder for your body to process glucose, Trusted Source Annals of Internal Medicine Annals of Internal Medicine’s mission is to promote excellence in medicine, enable physicians and other health care professionals to be well informed members of the medical community and society, advance standards in the conduct and reporting of medical research, and contribute to improving the health of people worldwide. View Source and change your gut flora. Any one of these factors can contribute to a person’s risk of developing diabetes. 

More diet-based research is needed to see whether eating specific foods at particular times can help prevent diabetes in people with short sleep durations. Since the study’s data relied on self-reported “healthy eating,” the researchers think that results could be fine-tuned by examining exactly the kind of foods participants eat. 

While improving sleep may not be feasible for everyone, such as those with young children or with sleep disorders, the authors note that regular exercise might help. Previous research has indicated that high-intensity exercise following a night of insufficient sleep can help improve glucose control. In fact, the researchers discovered that the U.K. participants who typically sleep less than 6 hours but regularly exercise were less likely to develop diabetes.      

So, if you’re eating right but getting sufficient sleep at night isn’t possible, you may be able to outrun a diabetes diagnosis by boosting your physical activity.