Like To Nap? It May Increase Your Risk For Diabetes

Naptime could lead to type-2 diabetes if you’re not careful.

A new study found that people who nap for an hour or more are at an increased risk of developing the disease, according to Japanese researchers.

Naps less than an hour are fair game.

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“People need to be aware that this study, and these findings, are just associations or markers of lifestyles rather than the cause of diabetes,” said Dr. Joel Zonszein of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

More than 300,000 people were analyzed for the study. The research team, led by Dr. Yamada Tomahide from the University of Tokyo, found that longer naps were linked to a 45-percent increase in developing type-2 diabetes. Shorter naps – those less than an hour – had no risk.

“Maybe longer naps are short periods of sleep and more common in those individuals with long working hours, stress all day, working more than one job and maybe stress is associated with fast-food eating, etcetera,” Zonszein said. “So, the long nap is just a marker of lifestyle.”

According to HealthDay, Dr. Gerald Bernstein of the Friedman Diabetes Program in Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City said the issue revolves around predisposition to diabetes.

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The act of napping can cause blood sugar to rise. So if you are known for long naps, and already exhibit the factors that lead to diabetes, such as unhealthy weight and genetics, that increase in blood sugar may trigger the disease.

“If you’re going to nap, make it short,” Bernstein said.

Type-2 diabetes is a blood-sugar disease that develops when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to the insulin being produced. Therefore, glucose, or blood sugar, stays in the blood instead of being used by the body as fuel.

More than 13 percent of African Americans are living with some form of diabetes, which can lead to complications such as high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke.