People sleeping lesser than recommended levels during weeknights are at a high risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity, say the researchers from the United Kingdom's University of Bristol and the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.
The risk of disease would not be altered when attempts are made to compensate the indebted sleep in the weekends, added the researchers in the study presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting.
A cross-sectional study was carried out by the researchers among 522 people to assess the effect of loss of sleep and its impact on the patient's health with respect to diabetes and obesity. Sleep habits of the patients and sleep debts during work days of the week were analysed in the study.
It is a well-known fact that working in alternate shifts affects sleep habits and in turn deteriorates health and wellness of a person. Changes in the body clock would disturb the rhythm of hormones and thereby affect routine functions of the human body.
The research findings suggests that even a debt of 30 minutes of sleep every working day could have a great impact towards the increased risks of diabetes and obesity, said Dr. Shahrad Taheri of Weill Cornell. Though loss of sleep has become common in the modern society, the metabolic consequences of sleep deprivation are realized only for over a decade now, said the researcher.
The study suggests that avoiding sleep debts could have a positive impact on body's metabolic functioning as well as the issues relating to fat around the waistline, said Taheri. He also added that taking into account, the sleep habits along with lifestyle intervention for diabetes and weight loss could be helpful in achieving great results, BBC reported.
Though people are well aware of the health benefits of having a good sleep at nights, it becomes nearly impossible to practice it because of present day lifestyle and work culture. Work pressure as well as the urge to catch up with the life around make one compromise on sleep. Having said that good sleep is necessary for a healthy life, the researchers admit that they are not aware of any appropriate solution to help people improve sleep habits.
It is nearly impossible for any researcher to give a common solution on sleep habits for people with different work culture and life style. Hence, it becomes necessary for people to design their own work and sleep schedules keeping in mind the importance of good night sleep.