A recent research finds that one night of sleep deficiency and six months on a high-fat diet could both impair insulin sensitivity to a similar degree. Conducted by Dr. Josiane Broussard and colleagues from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, this study demonstrates the importance of a good night's sleep on one's health.
The team used a canine model to observe and assess whether sleep deprivation and a high-fat diet affect insulin sensitivity in similar ways. According to News Medical Report, when the body becomes less sensitive to insuli, it needs to produce more insulin to keep blood sugar stable. This may eventually lead to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated to a number of serious complications, including cardiovascular disease.
"Research has shown that sleep deficiency and a high-fat diet both lead to impaired insulin sensitivity, but it was then unknown which specifically leads to more severe insulin resistance," lead researcher Dr. Broussard said. Findings also suggest that one night of total sleep deprivation may be as detrimental to insulin resistance as six months on a high-fat diet.
This research demonstrates the importance of adequate sleep in maintaining blood sugar levels and reducing risk for metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes."
This may pertain to a similar mechanism by which both insufficient sleep and high-fat diets induce insulin sensitivity have. Thus, it stressed out that impaired insulin sensitivity as caused by mere sleep deprivation can lead to increased food intake and overall metabolic diseases.
According to Dr. Broussard, future research should examine the pathways that may account for the interactions and associations between sleep and diet as well as their relationship to insulin sensitivity. It will also be necessary for clinical studies to identify and further prove whether insulin sensitivity is improved after recovery sleep.
However, Medical News Today recently reported on research that suggested 6.5 hours a night might be a healthy amount of sleep.