(06-10-10) Sleep Deprivation Increases Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease

by Wee Peng Ho, citizen journalist
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(NaturalNews) Are you one of those who skim on sleep regularly? Then here's a
good reason to get a full night's sleep starting today: According to a recent
study by the University of Warwick, people who sleep fewer than six hours per
night have a three-fold risk of developing a condition that could progress to
type II diabetes, strokes and heart attacks.

Analyzing six years' worth of data from 1,455 participants, researchers found
that decreased sleep duration is associated with a heightened risk of incident-
impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG) -- a pre-diabetic condition characterized by
blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but yet not high enough to be
classified as diabetes.

"We found that short sleep, less than six hours, was associated with a
significant, three-fold increased likelihood of developing IFG, compared to
people who got an average of six to eight hours sleep a night," said Dr Saverio
Stranges, lead author of this study.

The research used data taken from the Western New York Health Study. All
participants were between 35 and 79 years of age and had completed a clinical
examination as well as surveys which included questions about their general
health and sleeping patterns.

According to the American Diabetes Association, about 11 percent of people
with IFG developed type 2 diabetes each year during the average three years of
follow-up. Pre-diabetic patients are also 1.5 times more likely to develop
cardiovascular disease compared to those with normal blood glucose levels.

How does sleep deprivation lead to diabetes and heart disease? The reason is
unclear but previous studies suggested that it may have something to do with a
decrease in glucose tolerance and an increase in levels of cortisol, a type of
stress hormone, when one does not get enough sleep.

In the past, studies have largely focused on the relationship between sleep
duration and diabetes. But this is believed to be the first time that the link
between sleep duration and pre-diabetes has been investigated. This research
has been published in the Annals of Epidemiology journal.

Results from this study add to the growing list of potential health problems
that have been associated with sleep deprivation. These include obesity,
impaired immune system, hypertension and higher mortality rate.

Sources:

Short sleepers at higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease (http:
//www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/n...)

Pre-diabetes FAQ by the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.
org/diabetes-ba...)

Sleep quality and elevated blood pressure in adolescents (http://www.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/pubmed/...)

Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults (http:
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...)

Insomnia with Short Sleep Duration and Mortality: The Penn State Cohort (http:
//www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbs...)

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