Address sleep disorders to prevent diabetes, obesity: Study

Berlin: Scientists have linked inadequate or disturbed sleep to the development of metabolic disorders, including diabetes and type 2 diabetes, in a review that highlights the significance of addressing sleep issues.

Addressing poor quality sleep should be a target for prevention and treatment of these disorders, said authors of the review published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.

"Metabolic health in addition to genetic predisposition, is largely dependent on behavioural factors such as dietary habits and physical activity.

"In the past few years, sleep loss as a disorder characterising the 24-hour lifestyle of modern societies has increasingly been shown to represent an additional behavioural factor adversely affecting metabolic health," said the authors.

Addressing some types of sleep disturbance -- such as sleep apnea -- may have a directly beneficial effect on patients' metabolic health, the authors said.

But a far more common problem is people simply not getting enough sleep, particularly due to the increased use of devices such as tablets and portable gaming devices, reported the Science Daily.

According to the authors, "These findings open up new strategies for targeted interventions aimed at the present epidemic of the metabolic syndrome and related diseases.

"Ongoing and future studies will show whether interventions to improve sleep duration and quality can prevent or even reverse adverse metabolic traits. Meanwhile, on the basis of existing evidence, health care professionals can be safely recommended to motivate their patients to enjoy sufficient sleep at the right time of day."