▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
People who often have insomnia or like to stay up late need to be aware that according to a new study from the University of Bristol, you may be more likely to be targeted by diabetes, because the blood sugar levels in people with sleep disorders are usually higher. The new study focused on the association of five sleep states with changes in blood glucose levels, including insomnia, sleep duration, daytime tiredness, napping, and propensity to sleep time.
The entire study analysed data from more than 330,000 people in the UK Biobank, and participants reported their sleep status and submitted blood samples. The results of the analysis showed that those who reported frequent insomnia and a preference for staying up late had higher levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in their blood samples. HbA1c is the product of the reaction of hemoglobin in red blood cells with sugars in serum, so it is able to indirectly indicate blood glucose levels over time.
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Relatively speaking, people who reported never or rarely experienced insomnia or staying up late had low levels of HbA1c. This link only appeared in reports of insomnia and staying up late, and other sleep states had little significant correlation with changes in blood glucose.
Study corresponding author Dr James Liu noted: "We think that insomnia may be more effective than other hypoglycemic interventions. "This means that if a person suffers from both insomnia and is considered to be at high risk of developing diabetes, the sleep problem should be addressed first."
In the past, there have been many studies that suggest a link between poor sleep and type 2 diabetes, but the causal relationship is actually vague, and some studies believe that high blood sugar affects sleep quality. However, the answer given by the new study is that low-quality sleep may be the cause of elevated blood sugar.
Researchers also pointed out that there are many risk factors for diabetes, in addition to maintaining a good night's sleep, we must also pay attention to controlling a balanced diet and exercising more, so that we can keep ourselves away from diabetes. The study has been published in Diabetes Care.