Adequate Sleep Important to Metabolic Health

Poor sleep has been linked to one of the key contributors to the development of diabetes. Researchers from the Netherlands found that even a single night of inadequate sleep (4 hours) can lead to insulin resistance. Resistance to insulin is a condition in which the body is incapable of using insulin to lower blood sugar or for other important metabolic functions. This occurs even if the pancreas makes plenty of insulin. Insulin resistance is also caused by excess body fat, particularly in the abdominal cavity, and by a lack of physical activity. It is highly likely that the decrease in sleep and exercise without corresponding decreases in caloric consumption in a modernizing world are contributing to the explosive rise in diabetes.