Lie-ins may help prevent diabetes
27-06-2013
Lying in at the weekend to catch up on sleep lost during the working week could be a key way to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in men, says a new study on the disease’s relationship with sleep. A combined research programme at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and the University of Sydney looked at nineteen non-diabetic men, average age 28.6 years, each of whom suffered from lack of sleep during the week (average 6.2 hours) for an average period of just over five years.
Among the participants who slept in during the weekend – on average 2.3 hours longer than their weeknight sleep – a clear improvement was noted in insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance, a response that would reduce the risk of type diabetes developing.
"We all know we need to get adequate sleep, but that is often impossible because of work demands and busy lifestyles,” said research Dr Peter Liu. “Our study found extending the hours of sleep can improve the body's use of insulin, thereby reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes in adult men."
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