Getting enough sleep may help prevent diabetes in men

Men who lose sleep during the work week may be able to lower their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by getting more hours of sleep, a new study has revealed.

The research conducted by Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute has found that insulin sensitivity, the body's ability to clear glucose (blood sugar) from the bloodstream, significantly improved after three nights of "catch-up sleep" on the weekend in men with long-term, weekday sleep restrictions.

The study lead by author Peter Liu, provides information about people who lose sleep during the week - often because of jobs and busy lifestyles - but "catch up" on their sleep on the weekends.

Liu and researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia studied 19 non-diabetic men, with an average age of 28.6 years, who for six months or longer (average, 5.1 years) self-reported inadequate sleep during the workweek.

It was found that on average, the men received only 6.2 hours of sleep each work night. But they regularly caught up on their sleep on the weekends, sleeping an extra 37.4 percent, or 2.3 hours, per night.

The research was presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.