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One sleepless night may induce insulin resistance in healthy people
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Just one night of short sleep duration can induce insulin resistance in multiple metabolic pathways in healthy people, new data indicate.
Researchers conducted a small study of nine adults to examine the effects of partial sleep deprivation during a single night on insulin sensitivity. Participants were considered healthy adults (mean age, 44.6 years; mean weight, 72.4 kg; mean BMI, 23.8). The researchers examined participants once after one night of normal sleep duration (approximately eight hours) and once after one night of four hours of sleep. Insulin sensitivity was measured using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp method.
“Our data indicate that insulin sensitivity is not fixed in healthy subjects, but depends on the duration of sleep in the preceding night,” Esther Donga, MD, of Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands, said in a press release. “In fact, it is tempting to speculate that the negative effects of multiple nights of shortened sleep on glucose tolerance can be reproduced, at least in part, by just one sleepless night.”
According to the results, sleep restriction did not affect basal levels of glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, insulin or endogenous glucose production.
It was, however, associated with increased endogenous glucose production during the hyperinsulinemic clamp compared with unrestricted sleep (4.4 mcmol/kg vs. 3.6 mcmol/kg lean body mass per minute; P=.017), which indicates hepatic insulin resistance, according to the researchers.
Sleep restriction was also associated with decreased peripheral insulin sensitivity and decreased glucose disposal rate during the hyperinsulinemic clamp (32.5 mcmol/kg vs. 40.7 mcmol/kg; P=.0009). Less than a full night’s sleep also decreased the rate of glucose infusion by about 25% and increased plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels (68 mcmol/L vs. 57 mcmol/L; P=.005) compared with unrestricted sleep.
Further studies are needed to evaluate whether interventions aimed at improving sleep duration may be beneficial in stabilizing glucose levels in patients with diabetes, the researchers concluded.
Donga E. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;doi:10.1210/jc.2009-2430.