A recent study conducted by the Westlake Life Sciences and Biomedical Laboratory in China explored the relationship between sleep patterns and fluctuations in blood sugar levels in adults.
اضافة اعلان
The study focused on how insufficient sleep and delayed sleep timing affect glucose regulation, aiming to understand the impact of sleep on metabolic health.
Fluctuations in blood sugar levels are a crucial factor in metabolic health, as these fluctuations are linked to an increased risk of developing diabetes complications. While previous research has confirmed that lack of sleep negatively affects glucose metabolism, the long-term effects of sleep patterns on blood sugar fluctuations have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, the research team sought to fill this gap by studying sleep patterns and their effect on blood sugar regulation over several years.
The study included 1,156 participants aged between 46 and 83 years from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study. Participants underwent self-reported sleep assessments through multiple visits and wore continuous glucose monitoring devices for 14 days to record real-time blood sugar fluctuations.
The researchers identified four sleep patterns: severe insufficient sleep (4.7 to 4.1 hours per night), moderate insufficient sleep (6.0 to 5.5 hours), mild insufficient sleep (7.2 to 6.8 hours), and sufficient sleep (8.4 to 8.0 hours). Participants were also divided into two groups based on sleep start time: early continuous sleepers and late continuous sleepers.
The results from the continuous glucose monitoring analysis showed that individuals in the severe insufficient sleep group experienced a 2.87% increase in blood sugar fluctuations and a 0.06 mmol/L increase in average daily glucose fluctuations compared to participants in the sufficient sleep group. Additionally, participants who slept late showed a 1.18% increase in glycemic variability (fluctuations in blood glucose levels over different time periods) and a 0.02 mmol/L increase in daily fluctuations.
The study confirmed that individuals with both insufficient sleep and delayed sleep timing experienced greater fluctuations in blood sugar levels compared to those who had only one of these factors, indicating a compounded effect on blood sugar regulation.
Thus, the findings emphasize the importance of maintaining adequate sleep duration and starting sleep earlier as key factors in improving blood sugar control and reducing the risks associated with diabetes.
Source: Medical Express
