Castor-oil packs nightly before bed can help you sleep | Dr. Orna Izakson | Telemedicine for Alaska and Oregon

sleep stabilizes blood sugar

Getting your nightly eight hours may be doing more for you than you think — it may help prevent Type II Diabetes.

That disease occurs when cells become resistant to insulin, the hormone that helps sugar move from the bloodstream and into cells, which use the sugar as food.

In a small study, researchers compared insulin responses of healthy people after a good night’s sleep and after a night where they slept only four hours. They found that just one bad night reduced cellular receptivity to insulin.

Diet, lack of exercise and family history are all important components in the disease; add these to life in a chronically sleep-deprived society, and it’s no wonder this form of diabetes is on the rise.

Can more sleep help people who already have the disease? The researchers haven’t tested that yet, but it’s certainly an idea to sleep on. (Via ScienceDaily).

 

 

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