Lack of deep sleep may raise diabetes risk

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Deep, restful sleep may be important for keeping type 2 diabetes at bay, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said slim, healthy young adults who were deprived of the deepest stage of sleep known as slow-wave sleep developed insulin resistance -- a trait linked to type 2 diabetes -- after just three nights.

The effect was comparable to gaining 20 to 30 pounds.

"It demonstrates the importance of deep sleep not only for the brain, but for the rest of the body," said Eve Van Cauter, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

Earlier studies have shown deep sleep is important for memory and other brain functions, she said in a telephone interview.

"It turns out deep sleep also has implications for glucose metabolism and diabetes risk," said Van Cauter, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with excess body weight, a rich diet and a sedentary lifestyle. And poor sleep quality has been linked with changes in appetite and metabolism.

Van Cauter's team wanted to see if a disruption in deep sleep could increase the risk for type 2 diabetes.