Taking a nap for more than one hour could be due to type 2 Diabetes – research shows.
A Japanese observational study done on the analysis of more than 300,000 found out that there is a link between the two.
The United Kingdom health experts said that some people experiencing long term illnesses often feel tired during the day. They were quick to add that there was no direct evidence that the risk of napping was increased by napping for long.
This extensive study was done by the University of Tokyo scientists and presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Munich.
The research findings
The study found out that long daytime naps that took more than one hour were linked to a 45 percent increase in cases of type 2 Diabetes. This was contrasted against napping for short or not napping at all. But the naps that took less than the said time showed no improvement on the status of diabetes.
Sleeping patterns
The report authors said that it is possible for long naps to have been caused by sleep apnoea – disturbed sleep at night.
The sleep disorder could in turn cause an increase in risks of heart attacks, stroke as well as metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Sleep deprivation, caused by work or social life patterns, could also lead to increased appetite, which could increase the risk of type-2 diabetes.
But there was also a possibility that people who lived less healthy lifestyles were more likely to have longer naps at daytime.
On the other hand, short naps were likely to cause an increased in alertness of an individual.
Is it an early warning?
Naveed Sattar said that we now have numerous evidences that prove sleep disturbances and diabetes are associated.
He works at the University of Glasgow as professor of metabolic medicine.
He said that “It’s likely that risk factors which lead to diabetes also cause napping. This could include slightly high sugar levels, meaning napping may be an early warning sign of diabetes.”
But more tests are necessary to prove that indeed poor sleeping patterns cause real health problems.
