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Poor night's sleep may put teens at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, study finds

Category: Diabetes

Failing to get a good night's sleep may put adolescents at a much higher risk of receiving unhealthy insulin test results, according to a new study out of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Researchers administered insulin test to a group of teens after tracking their sleep patterns for one night. The results showed that those who slept for less than 7.5 hours or more than 8.5 hours had much lower levels of insulin. This lead to elevated blood sugar readings.

"We already know that three out of four high school students report getting insufficient sleep," said Dorit Koren, who led the research. "Our study found to keep glucose levels stable, the optimal amount of sleep for teenagers is 7.5 to 8.5 hours per night."

It has already been established that more young people are obese than ever before, which significantly increases indivdiual's chances of developing diabetes. The fact that a poor night's sleep compounds the problem could mean that even more adolescents may be at risk for the metabolic condition than previously thought.