Why you need seven hours of sleep every night

19 March 2009

The importance of getting a full seven hours of sleep has been emphasised this week by new research that suggests people who sleep less are more likely to develop type II diabetes.

Those who regularly sleep for six hours or less every night for up to six years are nearly five times more likely to develop impaired fasting glucose, a condition that precedes type II diabetes, than people who sleep for seven hours or more.

Researchers from the University at Buffalo in New York made the discovery when they assessed the sleep patterns and blood sugar levels of 1,455 participants. Of these, 91 had abnormal levels, and they were also those who regularly slept less than seven hours every night.

(Source: Proceedings of the American Heart Association’s 49th annual conference on Cardiovascular Disease, Epidemiology and Prevention).

Why you need seven hours of sleep every night

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