It seems to be the first thing that our busy lifestyles demand that we neglect. Between the time constraints caused by our jobs and balancing time to be with family and friends, it is easy to cut back on sleep. Simply put, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Consequently, as our quality of sleep suffers, our health is also undermined. It’s natural to think that a handful nights with just four to six hours of shut-eye won’t be too detrimental. However, research suggests that this isn’t the case.
Sleep And Sound Health Are Linked
While your sleeping your brain services itself performing memory consolidation tasks and simultaneously cleanses itself of toxins. The brain’s self-regulating requires energy, which triggers the body to increase glucose production while you sleep.
Normally, with a full night of sleep, this is not a problem. Your body’s natural glucose productions and insulin production levels both increase gradually until you wake in the morning. But when you fail to get enough of sleep’s recharging potential, problems can start to occur.
Short-Term Sleep Deprivation Dangers
A 2004 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism concluded that sleep deprivation begins to have an adverse impact on glucose homeostasis after just a few days.
The study group of 11 healthy men was limited to four hours of sleep per night for six consecutive days. At the end of the six days, the subjects developed impaired glucose tolerance. Additionally, the mens’ mean leptin levels dropped 19%. Leptin is an important hormone that suppresses appetite. With less of it in your system, cravings take over, which combined with impaired glucose tolerance can result in increased glucose in your bloodstream.
Later, same researchers repeated the experiment with 12 healthy men, but the subjects only experienced two consecutive days of reduced sleep. Despite the reduction, the men experienced similar results: an 18% decrease in leptin levels along with higher glucose levels and lower insulin levels.
Conclusion
Quality sleep is important for the proper regulation of your glucose tolerance and homeostasis. Just a few nights where you cut corners with sleep can negatively impact your health. In the case of diabetics, this fact is especially true due to their difficulties controlling their blood sugar.
So, make sure you are making time for seven to nine hours of sleep a night to help your body properly regulate appropriate glucose, insulin, and hormone production.
