Sleep trouble causes diabetes?

Now this one's bringing me worries.

Not getting a good night's sleep is a possible risk factor for diabetes according to a University of Chicago research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In a small study, nine (healthy) young adults volunteered to test the theory. They were prevented from sleeping or getting the deepest and most restorative type of sleep for three nights.

Researchers monitored volunteers' brain waves. As soon as volunteers started to enter deep "slow-wave" sleep, researchers sounded acoustic tones. If that didn't rouse volunteers, researchers spoke their names over the intercom or gently nudged them. Sleep was disrupted 250 to 300 times a night.

It was found that the volunteers' bodies did not use insulin as well as before: they needed more insulin to dispose of the same amount of a sugar solution. This reduced insulin sensitivity was comparable to the effect of gaining 20 or 30 pounds.

There had already been previous studies that concluded that sleep deprivation can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes but the University of Chicago study is the first to suggest that not getting the right kind of sleep could also increase diabetes risk.

The volunteers in study were aged 20 to 31. During the three-day test though, they slept like they were at their 60's or 70's. People in their 20's typically get 80 to 100 minutes of slow-wave sleep, while those over age 60 get less than 20 minutes. They related that they only remembered a few of the induced disturbances but they woke up feeling tired and cranky.

The researchers said that obesity and aging are two major diabetes risk factors. Obesity and aging also reduce sleep quality, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes.
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