People spend up to one-third of their lives sleeping, yet the function of sleep remains a topic of intense debate.
While evidence supports the role of sleep in processes such as learning, memory, and other central nervous system functions, prospective epidemiological studies have shown that insufficient sleep can increase the risk of metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
According to epidemiological evidence, well-controlled laboratory studies on healthy adults have shown that repeated partial sleep deprivation adversely affects systemic insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, further supporting the hypothesis that sleep is essential for the body’s metabolism at the cellular level. It has been demonstrated that sleep restriction leads to insulin resistance in human adipocytes, i.e., fat cells. Long-term sleep reduction below 7 hours can, therefore, increase the risk of metabolic disorders and consequently exacerbate the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Based on: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-8-201210160-00005.