Losing just 6 hours of sleep already begins to increase the risk of diabetes, according to this study from Toho University (Japan). Even mild or occasional sleep deprivation alters liver metabolism and fat content. Losing just one night's sleep affects the liver's ability to produce glucose and process insulin, increasing the risk of metabolic diseases such as fatty liver disease (fatty liver) and type 2 diabetes. in the American Journal of Physiology which reveal that glucose intolerance is not only linked to changes in food intake, energy expenditure or the shift in the biological clock.
The study is carried out on 2 groups of mice, a group kept awake for 6 hours each night and a control group which can sleep as it pleases. Both groups, before the study, had access to unlimited high-fat foods and sugar water and had little opportunity for physical activity. The researchers measured glucose levels and liver fat content immediately after the study period and found that:
- blood sugar levels are significantly higher in the sleep deprivation group vs controls from the first 6 hours awake;
- triglyceride (fat) levels and glucose production in the liver were also increased in the sleep deprivation group after a single period of enforced wakefulness;
- elevated liver triglycerides here are associated with insulin resistance or the body's inability to properly process insulin;
- finally, lack of sleep modified the expression of enzymes that regulate hepatic metabolism in the sleep deprivation group.
It is therefore a question of carrying out intervention studies designed to prevent fatty liver disease induced by lack of sleep and insulin resistance. But the conclusion is clear, a single sleepless night already changes the liver's ability to produce glucose and process insulin.