Missing 30 minutes of sleep on weekdays linked to obesity, insulin resistance

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a preliminary findings presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, California, researchers have found that missing just 30 minutes of sleep during weeknights could increase a person's weight and disrupt metabolism.

For the study, researchers enrolled 522 with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and randomly assigned them to usual care, added exercise, or diet and exercise.

When the study began, researchers found that those who did not get enough sleep on weeknights were 72% more likely to be obese than those who got sufficient sleep.

After 6 months, researchers found that participants who did not get sufficient sleep were more likely to be obese and have problems with blood sugar.

Specifically, researchers found that missing just 30 minutes of sleep during weeknights was enough to cause issues. For every 30 minutes of sleep missed on weekdays, the risk of obesity was increased by 17% and the risk of insulin resistance was elevated by 39%.