from journal Diabetes Care
The adage that you can’t catch up on
lost sleep has been dispelled in recent
years, including by a study performed at
the University of Chicago sleep
laboratory. Researchers found that two
consecutive nights of extended sleep,
such as on a weekend, appears to
reverse the negative metabolic effects of
four consecutive nights of restricted
sleep. They wrote in the journal
Diabetes Care catching up on sleep
appears to counteract the risk of
diabetes associated with four to five
hours sleep per night. The study
measured insulin sensitivity, the ability of
insulin to regulate blood sugars. After
four nights of restricted sleep the
volunteer’s insulin sensitivity decreased
by twenty three percent, raising their risk
of diabetes. But after two nights of
extended sleep, insulin sensitivity and
risk of diabetes returned to normal.