A scientific study has recommended the ‘perfect’ amount of sleep which could be ideal for preventing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers also found that those who ‘catch up’ on sleep at weekends after sleeping too little during the week benefitted from the extra rest.
The findings have been published in the BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care journal.
Previous research had shown that length of sleep is strongly linked to the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
After conducting this study, researchers from Nantong University in China said sleeping for seven hours 18 minutes every night could be the sweet spot for staving off insulin resistance.
They said poor and inconsistent sleep could create a ‘vicious cycle’ and weekend lie-ins could be as dangerous as insomnia.
The scientists looked at data from 23,000 US adults who recorded their sleep every night and had their blood sugar levels measured.
There was a U-shaped curve between the hours of sleep each night and blood sugar control.
Seven hours and 18 minutes was found to be the sweet spot.
An extra two hours at the weekend was linked to worse outcomes, Medical Xpress reported.
But for those sleeping too little during the week, the extra shut-eye was found to be a help.
The study’s authors said an extra couple of hours at weekends was ‘beneficial only in moderation and specifically for those with weekday sleep debt’.
Those sleeping more than the recommended amount during the week and also topping up at weekends could have a heightened risk of ‘impaired glucose metabolism’.
The study used a measure of estimated glucose disposal rate, which is a signal of insulin resistance, a state where the body does not respond well to the chemical and blood sugar is high.
This is a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Keeping sleep consistently between seven to eight hours a night was associated with healthy blood sugar levels in the study.
A lack of sleep can increase inflammation, blood pressure and stress hormones.
Researchers also said poor blood sugar control can lead to bad sleep.
‘This creates a potential vicious cycle wherein metabolic dysregulation disrupts normal sleep patterns and the resultant abnormal sleep (including extended duration) further aggravates metabolic health,’ they added.
The study was observational, meaning the researchers did not engage with the participants themselves, and so no firm conclusions can be drawn as to cause and effect.
But the researchers concluded that their findings suggested sleep patterns ‘may be relevant for metabolic regulation in diabetes’.
