Specific amount of nightly sleep may lower diabetes risk, researchers find

Getting a certain amount of sleep could help ward off diabetes, a new study suggests.

A team of Chinese researchers studied how sleep duration on weekdays is associated with insulin resistance, a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The long-term observational study, held from 2009 to 2023, included about 25,000 participants.

The "sweet spot" for low insulin resistance was about seven hours and 18 minutes of sleep per night, found the research, which was published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

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Large deviations from this benchmark — either too much or too little sleep — were associated with worse insulin sensitivity. Shorter sleep was linked with higher insulin resistance, while longer sleep had worse metabolic markers.

Getting extra "catch-up" sleep on the weekends did not make up for deficits during the week, the study found, as excessive sleep showed a risk of worsening glucose metabolism in some participants.

"These correlational findings suggest that sleep patterns, particularly weekend recovery sleep, may be relevant for metabolic regulation in diabetes and could inform considerations for healthcare professionals in managing patient care," the researchers concluded in the study.

As this was an observational study, the findings show associations rather than cause and effect, they noted. Sleep duration was also self-reported, which could pose a limitation.

The study did not measure sleep quality, which could play a role in outcomes. Other lifestyle factors, like diet, stress and shift work, could influence results as well.

Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for comment.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said the study produced "useful information."

"We have long known that there is an association between sleep and insulin resistance," Siegel, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital. "This is because the restorative aspect of sleep helps to regulate metabolic function and hormones, and also decrease inflammation."

"But as this study shows, both too much and too little sleep may lead to more insulin resistance (and diabetes) via metabolic dysregulation," he added.

Dr. Aaron Pinkhasov, a board-certified psychiatrist and chair of the department of psychiatry at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, said the concept of sleeping a certain number of hours to prevent diabetes is "too simplistic."

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"Sleep is only one part of metabolic health, along with genetics, body weight, diet, physical activity and stress," the sleep expert, who also wasn't part of the study, told Fox News Digital.

"The study provides only a snapshot in time, so it cannot prove that sleep duration actually causes insulin resistance," he went on. "It is also possible that underlying problems — such as metabolic illness, pain, depression or low activity — lead people to sleep longer or shorter."

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The "practical message" for adults, according to Pinkhasov, is to aim for about seven to nine hours of quality sleep on a regular schedule, as part of an "overall strategy to reduce diabetes risk."

"The study strengthens the idea that sleep should be considered as important as diet and exercise when discussing diabetes risk," he added. "The key message is not the exact number of hours, but that both chronic sleep deprivation and irregular sleep patterns are associated with higher insulin resistance."

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More than 40 million Americans — about 12% of the population — have diabetes, according to 2026 CDC data. About 11 million (27.6%) of cases are undiagnosed, and more than 115 million U.S. adults have prediabetes.