Mar 31 2009
Diabetes Cause
New Diabetes Cause Discovered.
Taking a regular afternoon nap is raising your risk of getting diabetes, say scientists.
The danger of developing diabetes, which can lead to strokes, blindness and kidney failure, increases by around a quarter among those who nap at least once a week.
Experts said the raised risk to cause diabetes could be simply down to the fact that those who took forty winks were less likely to be physically active.
Some 2.25 million Britons have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity – one of the main diabetes cause in the western world.
The research was being presented at a conference in Glasgow organized by charity Diabetes UK and examined the napping habits of 16,480 older people in China. More than two thirds of the group (68 per cent) took a nap at least once a week.
Even when other causes of diabetes were taken into account, such as the person’s weight, the study found napping was linked with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Overall, those who napped at least once a week had a 26 per cent greater risk of developing the illness compared with those who never took a nap.
The experts, led by a team from Birmingham University, said several factors may be behind the link, including the fact that those who nap are also probably taking less exercise anyway.
In addition napping during the day may disrupt night-time sleep – those who sleep for just a few hours a night are known to have a greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes
Another diabetes cause is that waking up from a short sleep also activates hormones and mechanisms in the body that stop insulin working effectively, the researchers said. Insulin controls levels of blood sugar.
The director of research at Diabetes UK said: ‘This research could be another step towards explaining the possible link between disturbed sleep patterns and causes of type 2 diabetes.’
He added that being overweight remained a much greater causes of diabetes, especially type II diabetes than sleep issues.
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