Adolescents who get enough sleep may maintain more stable blood sugar levels and face lower risks of type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark confirmed the findings after tracking the relationship between sleep and blood sugar in 206 18-year-old adolescents over two weeks, Britain's Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
Participants went about their daily lives while wearing devices that measured movement, sleep and blood sugar in real time. Based on the data, the researchers analyzed the link between sleep duration and changes in blood sugar.
The analysis showed that with each additional hour of sleep, blood sugar remained more stable and the range of fluctuations throughout the day decreased. Rapid changes in blood sugar can trigger inflammation and strain the body's metabolic functions, raising the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, so a smaller range of fluctuation is interpreted as a positive sign for metabolic health, the researchers explained.
On the other hand, adolescents who slept longer tended to have average blood sugar levels 0.39 mg/dL higher. But Morten Arendt Rasmussen, a professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen who led the study, said there was no need to view this negatively. He said getting enough sleep helps reduce cravings for sugar and keeps overall blood sugar more stable.
The study also confirmed a two-way relationship in which blood sugar and sleep influence each other. Not only does sleep duration affect changes in blood sugar, but adolescents with large blood sugar fluctuations also tended to sleep about seven minutes less on average the following night.
The researchers stressed that while sleep alone cannot fully control blood sugar, relatively simple lifestyle changes can still offer health benefits. "You don't necessarily have to obsess over a new diet or an expensive gym membership," Rasmussen said. "What's most needed is going to bed a little earlier."
He added, "For most 18-year-olds, diabetes may still feel like a disease of the distant future, but in this study, blood sugar fluctuations in young adults showed patterns similar to those in middle-aged and older people. Many health problems thought to appear later in life can actually begin much earlier."
