Study: Losing 30 Minutes of Sleep Increases Obesity Risk by 72%

As little as 30 minutes of sleep loss per day could have long-term consequences on metabolism and body weight, according to a new study.

“While previous studies have shown that short sleep duration is associated with obesity and diabetes, we found that as little as 30 minutes a day sleep debt can have significant effects on obesity and insulin resistance at follow up,” said Shahrad Taheri, MBBS, PhD, lead study author and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, in Doha.

“This reinforces earlier observations that sleep loss is additive and can have metabolic consequences,” Taheri said.
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For the study, Taheri and colleagues evaluated 522 participants who were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and divided them into 1 of 3 groups: usual care, physical activity intervention, or diet and physical activity intervention.

Participants were instructed to complete a 7-day sleep diary, and then calculate their weekday sleep debt.

Participants also recorded their weight and height to determine status of obesity, measured their waist circumferences to identify central adiposity, and evaluated their fasting blood samples to determine insulin sensitivity.

The study showed a 72% increased risk of obesity for those with weekday sleep debt, compared to those who had no weekday sleep debt. After 6 months, weekday sleep debt had a significant association with both insulin resistance and obesity.

After 12 months, for every 30 minutes of weekday sleep debt the risk of obesity and insulin resistance rose 17% and 39%, respectively.

Moving forward, the investigators recommended that regular, optimum sleep hygiene and education could serve as a key component to successful future trials in metabolic disease control.

The complete study was presented Thursday, March 5 2015, at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, ENDO 2015.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

1. Endocrine Society. Losing 30 minutes of sleep per day may promote weight gain and adversely affect blood sugar control. March 5, 2015. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/630723/. Accessed March 10, 2015.