Finding the Best Way to Sleep for Older Adults to Avoid Diabetes

New research, just published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, has discovered the best sleep pattern for blood sugar levels, highlighting sleep as a powerful tool in controlling diabetes risk.

Sleep is essential for health and well-being; poor sleep, such as going to bed too late or not getting enough sleep, leads to many health problems, including blood sugar control.

The research team, led by Dr. Luqi Shen, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, and Master Bang-yan Li, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China), investigated how bedtime and sleep duration affect blood sugar control in middle-aged and elderly people. They also examined whether going to bed late and sleeping less have a negative effect on blood sugar levels.

Sleep is essential for health

Participants were aged 46 to 83, with an average age of 63, and wore continuous glucose monitors for 14 days. The authors used this data to calculate measures of glucose control, including fluctuations in blood sugar levels (glycemic variability), the proportion of time blood sugar levels remained within the normal range of 3.9–10 mmol/L (time in range), and average daily glucose levels.

They also collected data on participants' bedtimes and sleep durations.

Of the 2,345 participants, 1,156 had sleep duration analyzed and 1,109 had bedtime analyzed.

Depending on their sleep patterns, participants were divided into six groups, including four groups based on sleep duration, as follows:

Group got enough sleep : 8 - 8.4 hours per night.

Mild sleep deprivation : 6.8 - 7.2 hours per night.

Moderate sleep deprivation : 5.5 - 6 hours per night.

Severe sleep deprivation : 4.1 - 4.7 hours per night.

And 2 groups based on bedtime: Consistently early to bed and consistent late to bed.

The results were found as follows:

Researchers have concluded that to keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent diabetes, go to bed earlier and sleep longer.

People who sleep less have higher blood sugar fluctuations

Researchers found that people with severe sleep deprivation (4.1 - 4.7 hours per night) had the highest coefficient of variation in blood sugar and larger blood sugar deviations, with the time blood sugar remained within the normal range reduced by 3.11%, according to the medical news site News Medical.

Even mild sleep deprivation causes small fluctuations in blood sugar and glycemic indices.

Thus, getting enough sleep (8 - 8.4 hours per night) is best for stabilizing blood sugar.

People who sleep late also have higher blood sugar fluctuations.

Regarding bedtime, people who slept late also had higher blood sugar fluctuations. Notably, people who slept late and slept less had the worst blood sugar fluctuations, with the highest coefficient of variation and the largest blood sugar deviations. This highlights the role of circadian rhythms in metabolic health.

Researchers have concluded that if you want stable blood sugar levels to prevent diabetes, go to bed earlier and sleep longer, according to News Medical.

However, they also said further research is needed to confirm the results in younger or more diverse populations.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tim-ra-cach-ngu-tot-nhat-de-nguoi-lon-tuoi-tranh-benh-tieu-duong-185250308133632808.htm