The exact amount of time you should sleep to take care of your metabolism

A large observational study of the Nantong University (China)published in the open access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Caresuggests that sleep 7 hours and 18 minutes every night may be the sweet spot to prevent the risk of insulin resistance, which is the precursor to type 2 diabetes.

However, the results indicate that catching up on sleep during the weekend is associated with a higher risk of impaired glucose metabolism in those who sleep more than the optimal threshold nightly.

Previously published research shows that sleep duration is strongly associated with the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and related metabolic disorders, the researchers note. However, it is not entirely clear what role You might have the weekend’s recovery sleep, if you have any.

The estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR) is considered a reliable indicator of insulin resistance, they explain. How much the lower the eGDR (less than 6-7 mg/kg/min, for example), the greater the risk insulin resistance; the higher the eGDR (more than 10 mg/kg/min, for example), the lower the risk.

Therefore, the researchers wanted to investigate the association between weekday sleep duration and eGDR and any moderating effects of weekend recovery sleep, with the goal of informing clinical practice for people with diabetes.

For this…

They included in their analysis 23,475 participants, between 20 and 80 years old, from serial waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2009 and 2023: 10,817 of them had data available on weekend sleep duration.

Weekend recovery sleep was rated as none; up to 1 hour; 1 to 2; and more than 2. eGDR was calculated using a formula that includes waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, and blood pressure.

The average eGDR among participants was 8.23, and on weekdays, they slept an average of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Just over 48% reported catching up on sleep over the weekend. Those who recorded sleep data on the weekend slept an average of 8 hours. Analysis of the data revealed an inverted U-shaped curve between sleep duration and eGDR, with a sweet spot of 7 hours and 18 minutes.

Below this threshold, sleeping more at night was associated with higher eGDR; Above this threshold, sleeping more at night was associated with lower eGDR, particularly among women and people aged 40 to 59 years.

Additional statistical analysis showed that for those who slept less than the optimal threshold during the week, 1 to 2 hours of recovery sleep on the weekend was associated with higher eGDR compared to none.

But for those who slept more than the optimal sleep threshold during the week, more than 2 hours of weekend recovery sleep was associated with a lower eGDR after accounting for potentially influential factorssuch as lifestyle, ethnicity, marital status and educational level.

It should be noted that there appears to be a bidirectional relationship between sleep and metabolism. For example, a low glycemic level has been linked to a higher likelihood of both short and long sleep, as well as sleep disorders, the researchers explain. “This creates a potential vicious cycle in which metabolic dysregulation disrupts normal sleep patterns and the resulting abnormal sleep (including prolonged duration) further exacerbates metabolic health.”

This is a observational study and, therefore, no definitive conclusions can be drawn about the cause-effect relationship. The researchers acknowledge that the study was based on self-reported data on sleep duration, and they could not rule out a reverse causalitythat is, the alteration of glucose metabolism could interfere with sleep, rather than the opposite. However, they conclude: “These correlational findings suggest that sleep patterns, particularly weekend recovery sleep, may be relevant to metabolic regulation in diabetes and could inform the considerations of professionals of health in the management of care patient“.