Type 2 Diabetes has once again established itself as a lifestyle disorder with a new study that says that people who sleep in the morning and stay awake all night, are at a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
The study titled ‘Chronotype, Unhealthy Lifestyle, and Diabetes Risk in Middle-Aged U.S. Women,’ was conducted by researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health, and published today in the ‘Annals of Internal Medicine.’
Night Owls At Risk Of Diabetes
The study looked at 63,676 US nurses aged 45 to 62 years, who had no reported history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes in 2009, and were followed up with until 2017. The participants of the study who reported staying up late at night exhibited a 54% higher likelihood of having an unhealthy lifestyle compared to their counterparts, the ‘early birds.’
Also Read: An Early Bird Or A Night Owl: Which Sleeping Pattern Is Better?
Over the course of their observation, the researchers found that the risk of diabetes was 21% higher for those with an ‘in-between’ chronotype, meaning those who weren’t exactly night owls but still could benefit from going to bed much earlier. Shockingly, this risk factor projected a 72% higher chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes for the night owls, even after the study was adjusted to consider sociodemographic factors, shift work, and family history of diabetes.
To understand this link between a reversed sleep cycle and its potential to develop diabetes, the researchers adjusted their study to consider factors like body mass index, physical activity, and diet quality. However, even when they considered all possible factors, ‘night owls’ still had a 19% higher risk of diabetes compared to ‘early birds.’
Results Of The Study
The researchers concluded that staying up all night paves the way or is indicative of a poor lifestyle and messed up priorities. This was apparent from the self-reported study since middle-aged nurses who reported staying up all night were more likely to report unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and hence had an increased diabetes risk compared with those who slept on time.
Also Read: Are You Prediabetic: Expert Explains How Soon It Can Lead To Diabetes?
Sleeping during the day takes time away from a healthy diet and even the bare minimum physical activity afforded by daytime outings. All the factors combined, the lack of proper sleep, disruption of the natural body clock, poor diet, and no physical exercise are the breeding grounds for much more vicious diseases than diabetes. Hence, the findings of this study are not surprising and are in fact another confirmation that we need to take our daily routines very seriously, and the smallest lifestyle tweaks can work wonders in protecting us from morbid health disorders.
