A single night of partial sleep loss impairs fasting insulin sensitivity but does not affect cephalic phase insulin release in young men.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized crossover trial comparing sleep restriction to normal sleep
PubMed 26361380 · doi:10.1111/jsr.12340
What was done
Sixteen men participated in two separate sessions comparing one night of partial sleep deprivation (4.25 h sleep) with one night of full sleep (8.5 h sleep). In the morning following each condition, participants rinsed their oral cavity with a 1-molar sucrose solution for 45 s. Blood was sampled repeatedly (-3, +3, +5, +7, +10, and +20 min) to measure plasma glucose and serum insulin to assess cephalic phase insulin release and fasting insulin sensitivity.
What was found
Partial sleep deprivation was associated with significantly higher peripheral insulin resistance compared to full sleep, indicated by a 16% increase in the fasting homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (P = 0.025). No cephalic phase insulin release was observed in either sleep condition following the sucrose rinse.
Why it matters
The study demonstrates that a single night of sleep restriction is sufficient to impair fasting insulin sensitivity in healthy young men, while showing that blunted cephalic phase insulin release is unlikely to be the mechanism underlying this morning metabolic impairment.
Limits
The study had a small sample size (n = 16) consisting solely of young men, preventing generalization to women, older adults, or individuals with metabolic conditions. The sucrose rinse protocol failed to elicit any detectable cephalic phase insulin release even in the rested baseline state. Only acute single-night effects were evaluated.
Cited by
- supports A single night of sleep deprivation, or two to three nights of sleep deprivation, causes acute insulin resistance and elevated inflammation.