Lack of Sleep Results In Insulin Resistance in Teens

It has been known that sufficient sleep plays an important role in a person’s health. In the case of teenagers, sleep may be associated with a lot of conditions. In a recent study, the amount of sleep that teens get could affect their body’s insulin resistance that can also determine the development of diabetes in the future.

The researchers from the University of Pittsburg tracked the sleep duration and insulin resistance levels of 245 healthy high school students. The participants took a fasting blood sugar test and kept a sleep log. The participants also wore a wrist actigraph for a period of one week during the school year. The sleep duration based on the actigraphy showed that the students average 6.4 hours for a week. It also showed that sleep hours were considerably lower during school days than on the weekends.

The results showed that insulin resistance is associated with a shorter duration of sleep regardless of age, race, gender, body mass index and waist circumference.

According to Karen Matthews PhD from the University of Pittsburg Department of Psychiatry and lead author of the said study, “High levels of insulin resistance can lead to the development of diabetes. We found that if teens that normally get six hours of sleep per night get one extra hour of sleep, they would improve insulin resistance by 9 percent.”

The study is published in the October issue of the journal Sleep.

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2012, September 29). Lack of sleep leads to insulin resistance in teens. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2012/09/120929140234.htm
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