Sleep research: Too little sleep could aggravate diabetes and also lead to weight gain, a conference in Dublin will be told tomorrow.
This is because short sleep, or lack of sleep, can trigger increased levels of a hormone called ghrelin, an appetite stimulator, which tells the brain it is hungry. Lack of sleep can also lead to a decrease in leptin, a dietary hormone which tells the brain whether the body has enough food. Lower levels would send a message of hunger.
Prof Eve Van Cauter, research professor at the University of Chicago, will give a talk entitled Sleep loss: a risk factor for obesity and diabetes at the Gleeson Auditorium, James Connolly Memorial Hospital at Blanchardstown, Dublin tomorrow at 1pm. She will draw together findings from several studies, on sleep, appetite, increased weight and obesity.
Prof Van Cauter, a leader in her field, is also looking at insulin resistance in normal and short sleepers. She said there were indications that if diabetics got little sleep, it may aggravate the condition.
There is no set amount of sleep which individuals need, but Prof Van Cauter said seven to eight hours was a good benchmark to aim for.
Prof Van Cauter's advice is to think about sleep the same way as you think about good nutrition and exercise. "Try to optimise your sleep duration and quality," she said. "When you take holidays give yourself unrestricted bedtime - no alarm clock and go to bed at a regular time."
She says that within three to four days, you will wake up when you have had enough sleep. She also advises people not to surf the net, watch a lot of television or play video games before retiring.These are activities which are hyper activities, the professor notes.
Meanwhile, aerobic exercise and its effects on countering type 2 diabetes is forming a key part of research into the condition, a gathering in Trinity College Dublin will be told tomorrow.
Prof John Nolan will tell attendees at the Paul Wagstaff Commemorative Lecture that there has been an alarming increase in both obesity and diabetes in Ireland in the past 10 years. He will say that the effects of exercise are not completely understood, but exercise has shown a marked improvement in some patients' metabolism. He said further research was being carried out and the findings "were likely to change how we treat patients in the earliest stages of this disease".
Prof Nolan runs the Metabolic Research Unit at St James's Hospital, Dublin.