Study: Poor sleep raises death risk in diabetes

Medical guidance consistently recommends that healthy adults should sleep for at least seven hours each night. [Courtesy]

Researchers who spent nine years analysing sleep patterns and long-term health outcomes now warn that inadequate sleep, especially when combined with type 2 diabetes, significantly increases the risk of early death.

Medical guidance consistently recommends that healthy adults should sleep for at least seven hours each night, yet many people fail to meet this benchmark.

However, many circumstances and conditions prevent people from achieving the recommended number of sleeping hours. Some of these challenges arise from underlying health problems, while others are linked to social and economic pressures, such as long working hours, financial stress and demanding lifestyles.

Denying oneself adequate sleep may seem normal in today’s fast-paced world, but persistent sleep loss can have serious and even fatal consequences. According to a new study by a team of research scientists examining sleep patterns and the health effects of insufficient sleep, people who regularly experience sleep difficulties face a higher risk of dying earlier than those who get enough rest.

The researchers found that this risk is significantly greater among individuals living with type 2 diabetes. The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Surrey over a nine-year period and involved more than 500,000 middle-aged adults in the United Kingdom.

The findings showed that patients with type 2 diabetes had a 70 per cent increased risk of mortality. This risk rose to nearly 90 per cent when diabetes was combined with frequent sleep problems.

Type 2 diabetes

“The link between the risk of death, diabetes and sleep problems is particularly prominent among patients with type 2 diabetes,” said Malcolm von Schantz, a professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey and the lead researcher on the study.

“This suggests that effective disease management for diabetes should also place strong emphasis on identifying and addressing sleep disorders,” Professor von Schantz added.

The findings of the study were published in the academic journal Journal of Sleep Research. The nine-year research project was concluded in 2023. Based on the results, Professor von Schantz noted that people more likely to experience frequent sleep disturbances tend to be older and have a higher body mass index.

They are also more likely to be female, have a history of smoking, and currently live with depression or diabetes, the professor explained. Another researcher involved in the study, Kristen Knutson, analysed the data and observed that, in addition to early death, sleep deprivation was associated with an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, depression and certain cancers.

During the study, Professor von Schantz and his team sought to distinguish between different types of sleep problems, including insomnia and sleep deprivation. Insomnia was defined as the inability to fall or stay asleep despite having adequate time to rest. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, was classified as the deliberate restriction of sleep due to lifestyle or external demands.

The researchers advised that adults should make a conscious effort to obtain sufficient sleep, ideally seven hours or more each night, in order to enjoy the full health benefits associated with proper rest.

“People should prioritise sleep as part of their overall health,” the scientists said. “If it is not possible to achieve adequate sleep due to medical conditions, professional medical advice should be sought promptly.”