Sleep advocated to prevent diabetes
A good night’s sleep is “important” in preventing and managing Type 2 diabetes, a paper has found.
The evidence in relation to sleep and diabetes has been examined and the clinical implications highlighted in an article published in Practical Diabetes.
Specialist sleep researcher Dr Emer Brady, from the Leicester Diabetes Centre, and Dr Andrew Hall, a Consultant and Head of Service, Hanning Sleep Laboratory conducted the review.
They found that research into sleep duration and studies of shift workers suggested good sleep hygiene, sleeping at night and consistently sufficient sleep across the whole week rather than catch up sleep on ‘free days’ are associated with reduced risk of metabolic dysfunction.
The researchers then looked at the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) as a useful model to assess benefits of a more controlled and immediate reduction in sleep disturbance.
Research involving 150 continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treated patients with OSA and Type 2 diabetes found that at five years, CPAP use was associated with a lower blood pressure and progressively lower HbA1c The researchers concluded:
“It is increasingly clear that sleep duration and quality are important in the prevention and management of a number of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes.
“The International Diabetes Federation has already made clear recommendations about the need to consider OSA as a likely comorbid condition in subjects with T2DM and similarly that all individuals with known OSA should be screened for diabetes. Questions about sleep quality and duration should be commonplace in the diabetes clinic. Perhaps also questions about chronotype, shift work and sleep pattern.”
To view the paper titled ‘Sleep and type 2 diabetes mellitus’, visit http://bit.ly/1mnlPbB.
Notes to editors
For further details, to arrange an interview or more photographs, email oliver.jelley@ojpr.co.uk or call 07803 003811 or 01604 882342.
The Diabetes Research Centre is based at the Leicester Diabetes Centre.
The Leicester Diabetes Centre is an international centre of excellence in diabetes research, education and innovation and is led by Professor Melanie Davies and Professor Kamlesh Khunti.
Hosted at Leicester General Hospital, the Leicester Diabetes Centre is a partnership between the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and the University of Leicester, working with the city and county Clinical Commissioning Groups. It is a leading applied health research unit committed to improving the lives and care of people with diabetes and other long-term conditions.