Snoring husband

A new study has reported that healthy people who do not get enough deep sleep may lose their ability to process sugar which, in the long term, could contribute to weight gain and, ultimately, diabetes. The study reports that three nights’ lack of good sleep led to a drop in metabolism equivalent to a weight gain of 17 to 28 pounds.

According to conventional wisdom, diabetes causes sleep problems to its sufferers, the equation being that diabetics are more likely to be obese, and obesity induces lack of sleep through sleep apnea. The excess weight interferes with breathing during the deep sleep stage, but the obese person does not wake up and merely shifts to a lighter stage.

The researchers examined the possibility that sleep disorders (like sleep apnea) was the cause of metabolism problems. They monitored the brain waves of sleeping volunteers and, when the deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep) stage was reached, they disrupted the sleep with sounds loud enough to rouse them from deep sleep to a lighter stage, but not so loud to wake them up. This was artificially-induced apnea and its effect was to reduce by 90 percent the deep sleep time without changing overall total sleep time.

The results, as reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were surprising. After only three nights of disturbed sleep, eight out of nine participants registered a decline in insulin sensitivity readings to levels that are usually found in those at risk for diabetes.

The worse part was that the pancreas, which is primarily responsible for secreting insulin, did not compensate for the decreased sensitivity by increasing insulin secretions. This kind of insufficiency is associated with chronic metabolic problems. In addition, the effects of lack of deep sleep may be greater in obese people.

Previous studies have established the importance of deep sleep to memory and other brain functions. This new study suggests that deep sleep is also necessary for regulating glucose metabolism and has serious implications on diabetes risk.

In young adults, deep sleep reaches about 80 to 100 minutes per night. Adults over 60 get only about 20 minutes of deep sleep. Any condition that reduces the deep sleep time now appears to be linked to increased diabetes risk.

Recent increases in the number of persons with diabetes (especially type 2), which is forecast by 2010 to reach 215 million worldwide, is often ascribed to higher obesity levels coupled with an ageing population.

Safety Tip:
* Get enough sleep. Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
* So arrange things to prevent disruptions to your deep sleep. Try to ensure that nothing will disturb your sleep.