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Short Sleep Duration Impairs Insulin Sensitivity in Women

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 19, 2023.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Nov. 17, 2023 -- Short sleep duration for six weeks impairs insulin sensitivity in women, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in Diabetes Care.

Faris M. Zuraikat, Ph.D., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues examined whether prolonged mild sleep restriction (SR), resembling real-world short sleep, impaired glucose metabolism in 36 women (11 postmenopausal), aged 20 to 75 years, without cardiometabolic diseases, with total sleep time of seven to nine hours/night in a randomized crossover study. The study included two six-week phases: maintenance of adequate sleep (AS) and 1.5 hours/night SR.

The researchers found that total sleep time was reduced by 1.34 ± 0.04 hours/night with SR versus AS in linear models adjusted for baseline outcome values. With SR versus AS, fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were increased; the effects on HOMA-IR were more pronounced in postmenopausal women. The effects of SR on glucose metabolism were not mediated by changes in adiposity; when changes in adiposity were included as a covariate, the results were not altered in the full sample.

"Clinicians should educate patients on the crucial role of sleep for health and discuss strategies to increase sleep duration, which may protect against IR and the development of type 2 diabetes, and promote healthy life span in women," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted November 2023

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