Study Warns How Less Sleep Increases Diabetes Risk In Children

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Having a good sleep in the night is important not just for the adults but it is equally important for the childrern as well.

Lack of adequate sleep can lead to serious health issues. Children who do not get enough night sleep are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study warns.

Researchers at St George's University of London in the UK analysed the body measurements, blood sample results and questionnaire data from 4,525 children of multi-ethnic descent, aged 9 to 10 years, in the UK.

They found that children who slept longer had lower body weight and lower levels of fat mass. Sleep duration was also inversely related to insulin, insulin resistance and blood glucose.

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK recommends a sleep duration of 10 hours for a 10 year old. "These findings suggest increasing sleep duration could offer a simple approach to reducing levels of body fat and type 2 diabetes risk from early life," said Christopher G Owen, professor at St George's University of London.

"Potential benefits associated with increased sleep in childhood may have implications for health in adulthood," he said.

Increasing the mean weekday sleep duration (10.5 hours) by half an hour could be associated with a 0.1 kilogramme per square metre lower body mass index (BMI) and a 0.5 per cent reduction in insulin resistance, researchers said.

Reducing these levels may have longer-term implications for reduced type 2 diabetes in later life, they added.

The study was recently published in the journal Pediatrics.

The symptoms of diabetes in children are almost similar to those of an adult. Here are few of the major symptoms of diabetes (both type1 and type 2 diabetes) in children. Check them out.

• Increased thirst
• Fatigue
• Frequent urination
• Increased hunger
• Blurred vision
• Changes in skin colour