Sleep deprivation and insulin

More research continues to be done on the effects of sleep deprivation on our metabolism. This article summarizes a small study looking at how acute sleep loss impacts insulin sensitivity. Researchers studied healthy, young adults without diabetes. They reduced their sleep time from 9 to 5 hours for five nights in a row - supposedly to simulate how little some may sleep during a workweek. After the 5 short nights, they let the participants sleep 9 hours a night for five more nights. The results showed that the subjects sensitivity to insulin decreased during the 5-hour sleep nights. This means that their bodies had to produce more insulin to keep their blood sugar under control. They didn't develop diabetes, but reduced insulin sensitivity is a precursor to diabetes. The next step will be to assess how less sleep affects older adults and adults with pre-diabetes / diabetes.

Obstructive sleep apnea is linked to decreased insulin resistance.

This article describes research showing that children with obstructive sleep apnea have decreased sensitivity to insulin. Decreased sensitivity to insulin can be seen in diabetes. The researchers hypothesized that oxygen level decreases seen in obstructive sleep apnea could be responsible for the decreased sensitivity to insulin. Results of this study suggest that it is important to screen patients with diabetes or who are prediabetic for obstructive sleep apnea.

Poor Sleep, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes

Diabetics who have difficulty controlling their blood glucose levels have a greater risk of complications, reduced quality of life, and reduced life expectancy. Researchers studied the association of sleep quality in diabetics. Results were published in the online version of the 3-16-11 edition of Diabetes Care.

Sleep duration and quality were estimated from 6 days of wrist actigraphy, a home sleep-measuring device worn on the wrist. Insomnia was defined as self-reported difficulty falling asleep or waking up in the night three or more times per week plus average sleep efficiency of <80% based on actigraphy.

The results showed no association between sleep measures and fasting glucose, insulin levels, or insulin resistance in the 115 subjects without diabetes. In the 40 subjects with diabetes, insomnia was associated with a 23% higher fasting glucose level, a 48% higher fasting insulin level, and an 82% higher amount of insulin resistance.

This suggests that diabetics with insomnia could have a more difficult time controlling their diabetes. The next step is to see if improving sleep quality will improve long term outcomes and quality of life for diabetics.