Scientists from the University of Chicago, Illinois, USA, held a special experiment on 11 healthy middle-age men and women who were leading an unhealthy lifestyle. The results of the experiment were examined and the scientists concluded that the lack of sleep increases the risk of developing diabetes.
For two fourteen-day periods the participants were given unlimited access to food, had no physical exercises, but were sleeping either five and a half or eight and a half hours a day. When the participants were to sleep less, they had to go to bed later and get up earlier and thus they slept two hours less.
Upon conclusion of each part of the experiment, the scientists measured the participants’ blood sugar level. According to the results, the sugar levels taken during the sleep deficit period were similar to those seen in people with an increased risk of developing diabetes.
Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/lusi.
