Getting more sleep ‘could reduce type 2 diabetes risk’

New research from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) has revealed that getting more sleep could help to reduce a person's risk of contracting type 2 diabetes.

The study showed that insulin sensitivity – which pertains to the body's ability to clear glucose from the bloodstream – significantly improved after three nights of catch-up sleep on the weekend among men with long-term weekday sleep restrictions.

Researchers monitored 19 nondiabetic men who received only 6.2 hours of sleep each work night, but who tended to get an additional 2.3 hours of sleep on weekends.

Such findings are important given that many people in modern societies find their ability to sleep for adequate periods during the week are restricted due to demanding work schedules and busy lifestyles.

Dr Peter Liu, an LA BioMed lead researcher, said: "We all know we need to get adequate sleep, but that is often impossible."

NHS figures show that approximately 2.9 million people are affected by diabetes in the UK, with 90 percent of this total suffering from the type 2 variant.