Lack of sleep increases the risk of developing diabetes at the same level as obesity.An increase, in addition, that is independent of other risk factors for this disease and that is applicable to the entire population - including healthy young people who follow a balanced diet.
However, and according to a study led by researchers from the University of Chicago (USA) and published in the "Care Diabetes" magazine, just sleeping a lot during two consecutive nights, the risk associated with the lack ofdream.
As indicated by Josiane L. Broussard, director of the investigation, “our results show that with two consecutive nights in which the lost dream is recovered, the negative metabolic effects caused by four consecutive nights with sleep restriction can be reversed.A benefit, in addition, that is obtained in the short term ».
less insulin sensitivity
The work week supposes for many people a restriction of quantity, and therefore of quality, of sleep.And this restriction entails, among other consequences, a greater risk of short -term diabetes.Specifically, and as the study shows, sleeping only 4 or 5 hours a day can be a 16% increase in developing the disease - a negative effect comparable to that associated with obesity.
Thus, and in order to find a remedy for this damage, the researchers recruited 19 healthy young people who, depending on the occasion and for four consecutive nights, let them sleep up to 8.5 hours or allowed them to remain in bed only4.5 hours.In the latter case, sleep restriction was accompanied by two additional consecutive nights in which participants could sleep everything they wanted - and in which the average duration of sleep rose to 9.7 hours.
Two consecutive nights in which the lost dream is recovered are enough to reverse the negative metabolic effects for four consecutive nights with lack of dreamsiane Broussard
The results showed that sleep deprivation entailed a 23% decrease in insulin sensitivity - or what is the same, insulin capacity to regulate blood sugar - and a 16% increase in developing diabetes.
more than diabetes
However, sleeping a lot for two consecutive nights seems to be enough to reverse this negative effect.And after sleeping everything they could for two nights in a row, insulin levels and diabetes risk returned to normal levels.
As is highlighting Tasali, co-author of the study, «the metabolic response to this‘ extra ’dream is certainly interesting and encouraging.And as observed in the results, young and healthy people who sporadically fail to sleep enough during the work week can reduce their risk of diabetes if they recover sleep over the weekend ».
So if one sleeps little during the week and recover the dream the weekend is exempt from an excess risk of diabetes?As Josiane Broussard acknowledges, «ours has not been a long -term study, and the participants only submitted to the process on one occasion.Our next objective is to analyze the effects of sleep extension during the weekend on people with a lack of sleep maintained over several working weeks ».
Be that as it may, lack of sleep is not limited to a greater risk of diabetes.It is also associated with other certainly pernicious effects.Specifically, those observed in this study were: inadequate food, with abuse of sweets and fat -rich foods: increased blood pressure;cognitive problems, especially difficulty of concentration and reasoning;andincreased risk of traffic accidents.