World Diabetes Day: Lack Of Sleep Increases Type 2 Diabetes Risk

India has a diabetic population of 65 million. An analysis by the AIIMS found that change in lifestyle with lack of sleep were among the top reasons for the onset of diabetes.

People who do not get six hours of sleep a day are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, say medical experts.

The doctors said that diabetes is just one among a number of other major health complications that includes high blood sugar, high cholesterol, extra fat around the midsection, high blood pressure and excess amounts of fats in the blood - precisely all together known as metabolic syndrome.

Type 2 Diabetes - Risk Factors - Symptoms & Signs - Management - Prevention
Globalization and changing lifestyles has made diabetes very common in developing countries so much so that India is known as the Diabetes Capital of the World.

‘Sleep deprivation makes people physically and mentally tired, during this period the body produces a hormone that stimulates appetite and people tend to consume more calories resulting in impaired glucose tolerance and obesity. ’

The problem becomes a major one as 15-20 percent of the Indian population in the 25-35 age group are among those that are increasingly coming in the grip of diabetes.

"Sleeping late at nights could increase chances of getting type II diabetes. Adults who get less than the recommended amount of sleep may not have adequate control of normal sugar levels," said Roshani Gadge, consultant diabetologist at Gadge's Diabetes Centre.

Emphasizing that several new researches have concluded that people who report five hours of sleep or less are more likely to have diabetes, compared to those who sleep for 7 to 8 hours per night, Gadge said that continuous lack of sleep deprivation is related to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, which increases the chance of developing Type-II diabetes.

Lack of Sleep may Increase Risk of Depression Among Arthritis Patients
Lack of proper sleep for long periods of time may increase the risk of depressive symptoms.

"Eventually, sleeplessness causes insulin-producing cells to stop working properly, elevating the glucose levels and leaving one wide open to diabetes," said Gadge, who is considered a pioneer in diabetology in the southern part of India.

According to the WHO, India is a home to 65 million diabetic patients, the number being second only to China. Analysis by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) recently revealed that change in lifestyle with lack of sleep were among the top reasons behind the occurrence of the disease.

Lack of Sleep may Affect Athletes� Performance in Concussion Testing
A new study reveals that the performance of athletes undergoing baseline concussion testing suffered if they did not get enough sleep the night before.

Stating obesity as other result of lack of sleep, she explained: "Lack of sleep makes people physically and mentally tired, during when the body produces extra hormone that stimulates appetite, thereby piling up on more calories and carbohydrates to get a quick energy boost. These people are more likely to display impaired glucose tolerance."

The doctors have warned that it's harder to recover from sleep deprivation if one continues to have lack of sleep.

Lack of Sleep Leads to Weight Gain Within No Time
Researchers are reporting that lack of sleep for even one workweek leads to overeating and weight gain among people.

"During such time the body interprets that sleep deficit as a constant stressor and the chance you'll get diabetes grows," she said.

Ashraf Ganie, a prominent endocrinologist and professor of AIIMS, said: "There are several reasons to diabetes, lack of sleep is one of them. It is predicted that by 2030 diabetes mellitus may afflict up to 79.4 million individuals in India vs. 30.3 million in United States."

"Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India and majority of cases are because of diabetes whose occurrence has several reasons now."

Ghani has also cautioned that people with the problems of snoring are increasingly on the risk of diabetes.

"This is emerging as bigger problem as with the rising number of patients as sleep apnea have been common among the diabetics," he said.

Talking on the solutions, Behram Pardiwala, leading internal medicine experts, said that proper sleep is necessary for the proper functioning of the body.

"Diabetes might have several reasons, but by having a proper sleep one can at least avoid one of the prime reason behind the occurrence and as far as the snoring problem is concerned, whose prime reason is overweight, can simply be controlled by loosing weight. It's just that one should know how to do it," said the doctor, who is associated with Wockhardt hospital.

Source-IANS