Sleep is essential for life, and supports many physiological and psychological functions including tissue repair, growth, memory consolidation and learning.

There’s evidence that not getting enough sleep can have serious consequences. A shortened period of sleep may contribute to various ills, including memory lapses, trouble learning and paying attention, heart disease, obesity, mood problems and a weakened immune system. According to researchers, subject who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely to develop a condition that precedes diabetes than those sleeping for longer, they found.

Cases of type 2 diabetes, which are often, but not always, linked to obesity, have been rising across the globe.

The condition develops when the body makes too much insulin, but does not use the hormone efficiently to break down sugar in the blood.

Shorter sleeping periods are associated with decreased glucose tolerance and increased concentrations of blood cortisol. Glucose tolerance is a term used to describe how the body controls the availability of blood glucose to tissues and the brain. At fasting state, high circulating levels of glucose and the hormone insulin indicate that the body’s handling of glucose is inadequate. There is evidence that poor glucose tolerance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Research has suggested that long-term sleep restriction (< 6.5 hours per night) may cause a 40% fall in glucose tolerance.

Data was used from statistical methods to sidestep any effects of age, gender, and weight. They found that The effect of short sleep duration on diabetes incidence is likely to be related in part to the influence of short sleep duration upon body weight and hypertension. Those with no sleep apnea seldom showed those conditions.

A good night’s sleep is a biological necessity: your body wants and needs a good night’s sleep every night, and if you are well rested you will get a lot more done during the day. On average, most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well-rested. Adolescents should sleep about nine hours a night, school-aged children between 10-11 hours a night and children in pre-school between 11-13 hours a night.

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