Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Improved sleep may help deter type of diabetes, study suggests
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — When Shakespeare called sleep the "chief nourisher of life's feast," he may have been well ahead of his time, medically at least.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center report that disrupting sleep damages the body's ability to regulate blood-sugar levels, potentially raising the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
More than 18 million Americans have diabetes. The most common form is type 2, in which the body either becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't produce enough of it to regulate sugar in the bloodstream.
In a small experiment, researchers led by Dr. Esra Tasali, an assistant professor of medicine, found that disrupting the deepest sleep periods of volunteers rapidly resulted in reduction in their ability to regulate blood-sugar levels.
The findings were reported in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers studied the sleep patterns of nine volunteers, five men and four women, all of normal weight, in good health and ages 20 to 31.
Normal sleep is divided into several stages, with "slow-wave" sleep considered the deepest. Whenever the volunteers went into slow-wave sleep, the researchers made noise — enough to disturb the sleep though not to fully awaken them.
After just three days, the ability of the volunteers to regulate blood sugar fell by 25 percent, the researchers said.
Earlier studies have indicated that lack of sleep can reduce the ability to regulate sugar, and this report adds evidence that poor sleep quality is also a diabetes risk.
"This decrease in slow-wave sleep resembles the changes in sleep patterns caused by 40 years of aging," Tasali said in a statement. Young adults spend 80 to 100 minutes per night in slow-wave sleep, while people over age 60 generally have less than 20 minutes.
"In this experiment," she said, "we gave people in their 20s the sleep of those in their 60s."
Dr. Eve Van Cauter, a professor of medicine and co-author of the report, said: "Since reduced amounts of deep sleep are typical of aging and of common obesity-related sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, these results suggest that strategies to improve sleep quality, as well as quantity, may help to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in populations at risk."
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 12:50 PM
Ford posts $8.7 billion loss on asset write-downs
Rescue plan for housing is on the way
UPDATE - 10:15 AM
Iraqi teams banned from Beijing Olympic games
Election 2008: McCain: U.S. can win, not go back to Iraq
Robert Novak cited after pedestrian hit

Finding your work/life balance
Author Michelle Goodman serves up fresh tips & trends in the NWjobs.com Nine to Thrive blog.
- Grand Coulee Dam's immensity dominates Columbia River Basin | Only in Washington
- Some scented household products contain chemicals classified as toxic, UW study finds
- Private-school principal charged with rape of girl, 14
- Peak tolls on 520 bridge could be as high as $6.85
- Privacy vs. border security: Critics say laptop searches cross the line
- Seattle trucking-firm owner convicted in Rolls-Royce theft
- Toll on new 520 bridge could be $6.85 round trip, state study says
- Search suspended for young girl distress caller
- California QB Keith Price pledges to Huskies for 2009
- Alaska Air plans job cuts, fare hikes
- Some scented household products contain chemicals classified as toxic, UW study finds
- Grand Coulee Dam's immensity dominates Columbia River Basin | Only in Washington
- Making the most of your produce
- Privacy vs. border security: Critics say laptop searches cross the line
- Alaska Air plans job cuts, fare hikes
- Gates Foundation breaks ground
- Council panel OKs bag fees
- Southcenter mall expands, regroups with new retailers
- Toll on new 520 bridge could be $6.85 round trip, state study says
- Look to legumes for protein that's affordable and delicious
