Irregular Sleep Cycle Can Be Fatal For People With Type 2 Diabetes - Here's How

Irregular Sleep Cycle Can Be Fatal For People With Type 2 Diabetes - Here's How. (Image credits: iStock)

Scientists in Denmark have discovered that sleeping too much or too little can be fatal for millions of people who have type 2 Diabetes . As a part of the study, scientists in Denmark looked at almost 400 people and measured how much they slept over 10 days. All participants had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

For those who don't know, Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Glucose is your body's main source of energy. Your body can make glucose but it can also come from the food that you consume. According to data by the World Health Organization, in 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes. In 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths and 48% of these deaths occur due to diabetes occurred before the age of 70 years.

The aim of the latest study was to see how sleep can harm people with type 2 diabetes. After collecting their sleep data, Danish participants were classified into three categories - those who had short sleep (less than seven hours), those who had optimal (seven to nine hours), and those who had too much (nine hours or more).

The researchers further investigated for evidence of microvascular damage. The prevalence was at a 38 per cent, 18 per cent, and 31 per cent in the short, optimal, and long sleep duration groups, respectively.

It was then concluded short sleep duration was significantly associated with a 2.6 times increased risk of microvascular disease compared with optimal sleep. Long sleep duration had a 2.3 times increased risk.

The effects, however, worsened with age.