Sleeping In A Light Room May Cause Type 2 Diabetes By Preventing The Production Of Insulin, Study

• One night in a faintly-lit room causes people to have greater insulin resistance
• Insulin resistance is the reduced ability of cells to respond to the hormone
• This affects glucose transport and is associated with type 2 diabetes' onset
• Light at night suppresses the production of the sleep-hormone melatonin
• Some 23 million people in the US are diagnosed with diabetes; 90% have type 2

Sleeping in a light room may cause type 2 diabetes by preventing the production of insulin, new research suggests.

After spending just one night in a faintly-lit room, people have greater levels of insulin resistance, a US study found.

Insulin resistance is the reduced ability of cells to respond to the hormone, which transports glucose out of the bloodstream and is associated with the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Previous research suggests exposure to light at night suppresses the production of the sleep-hormone melatonin, which is involved in maintaining people's blood sugar levels.

Melatonin is produced in the brain in response to darkness and regulates sleep-wake cycles.

Around 23.1 million people in the US and four million in the UK are diagnosed with diabetes, of which approximately 90 per cent have type 2.



Sleeping in a light room may cause type 2 diabetes by preventing insulin production

'Light exposure impacts insulin resistance'

Lead author Dr Ivy Cheung Mason, from Northwestern University, said: 'Our findings show that a single night of light exposure during sleep impacts measures of insulin resistance.

'Light exposure overnight during sleep has been shown to disrupt sleep, but these data indicate that it may also have the potential to influence metabolism.

'These results are important given the increasingly widespread use of artificial light exposure, particularly at night.'

She adds further research is required to determine the long term effects of night-time light exposure on people's type 2 diabetes risk.

How the research was carried out

The researchers analysed 20 healthy adults aged between 18 and 40 years old.

Some of the participants slept in a pitch-black room for two consecutive nights while the remainder spent one night in the dark room and another in one that was faintly lit.

All of the participants got eight hours sleep a day.

Both nights, their eye movements, muscle activities and heart rhythms were assessed.

The participants' glucose levels were recorded both mornings.

Eating a daily handful of nuts stabilises the blood sugar levels of type 2 diabetics

This comes after research released earlier this month suggested eating a handful of almonds, cashews and walnuts every day stabilises blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Just 75g of mixed, unsalted nuts significantly improves patients' blood sugar control, a study by the University of Toronto found.

The snack also reduces so-called 'bad' cholesterol and lowers levels of a protein associated with heart disease, known as Apo-B, the research adds.

The researchers believe their findings highlight the importance of unsaturated fat and low carbohydrate intakes for type 2 diabetes control.


Source