Sleep loss in adolescence may lead to diabetes

Sleep well, in addition to the recommended minimum hours is vital to health and that you know it. If your teen does not have a set schedule for going to bed, stay up late studying, watching TV or reading newspaper, will rise tired and their performance in school will suffer. In addition, lack of sleep can increase your risk of developing diabetes in the future. And you do not want that to happen, right?

When you subtract hours you sleep, the body suffers: instead of waking up full energy and willing to start the work day, you wake up tired and even in a bad mood. But those are not the only consequences. As we told you in a previous article, when sleep deprivation becomes habitual, it can become a risk factor for developing diabetes as adults . Now a new study, published in the specializing Sleep , confirms this same danger in adolescents. It is appropriate that, as a responsible parent, be alert and share it with your child  to take action.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, in the U.S., continued for a week the amount of sleep and levels of insulin resistance in 245 healthy high school students. Overall, the students slept on average about 6.4 hours each night, but slept much less during the school day during the weekends.

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Lesser amounts of sleep were associated with higher levels of insulin resistance (detected by blood tests), even taking into account other factors such as race, age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and the amplitude of participant’s waist.

Lead researcher, Dr. Karen Matthews, warns that elevated levels of insulin resistance may contribute to the development of diabetes. To refresh your memory, insulin resistance  occurs when cells do not respond properly (resist) the effect of insulin in charge of sending you the glucose (sugar) they need to get their energy. The pancreas, in turn, responds by creating and issuing (releasing) more insulin into the bloodstream in response to elevated levels of blood sugar can not enter cells. Dr. Matthews adds that the study found that if teenagers who sleep normally about six hours a night sleep an hour, could improve insulin resistance by 9 percent.

The study is the first to demonstrate an association between reduced sleep and increased insulin resistance in healthy adolescents, regardless of obesity factor, but it is noteworthy that not prove a cause and effect relationship between the two.

Either way, the message is relevant and should take up the matter. The first thing is to try your teenager sleep nine hours recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Besides the danger of developing diabetes, lack of sleep can also:

- Increase the risk of developing heart disease ,

- may contribute to decreased school performance,

- To take changes in attitudes and moods,

- And even can cause overeating, further complicating things with weight gain.

Adolescence in itself is a difficult and delicate, which must be very patient and careful behavior patterns tell your son without causing fights and rebellious attitudes. But here are some tips to make adequate sleep hours:

• Set a schedule. Put set times for getting in and out, which helps the body get used to a sleep pattern. It is possible that the adolescent not important, but you must agree, especially on weekdays, so you get better performance in school.
• Create an appropriate atmosphere in the room. It should be dark, quiet and a comfortable temperature. These are the conditions that foster better sleep.
• Prevents watch TV till late. Nor should drink stimulant drinks with caffeine before bedtime.
• If you play a sport or exercise, let him do it hours before bedtime.
• Do not serve dinner too abundant, especially near the time to go to sleep.

You may take a while to get your teenager sleep more and follow a schedule, but it is very important that everyone do their part, through dialogue and communication, and gradually, the objective being achieved. This will lay the foundation for positive behaviors that ultimately protect their health and prevent future suffering dangerous conditions such as diabetes.