Skeletal muscle insulin signaling and whole-body glucose metabolism following acute sleep restriction in healthy males.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized crossover trial
PubMed 29233906 · doi:10.14814/phy2.13498
What was done
Ten healthy young males participated in a randomized crossover study with a 3-week washout period between conditions. Participants underwent two nights of habitual sleep (CON) and two nights of sleep restricted to 50% of habitual sleep duration (SR) in the home environment. Following the second night of each condition, whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were measured using an oral glucose tolerance test, and vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained to evaluate skeletal muscle PKB activity.
What was found
Sleep restriction did not significantly change plasma glucose concentrations during the oral glucose tolerance test (P = 0.222). Plasma insulin area under the curve was significantly higher after sleep restriction compared to control (P = 0.013), and the Matsuda index was 18.6% lower (P = 0.010). Skeletal muscle PKB activity fold change from baseline showed non-significant downward trends after sleep restriction at 30 minutes (P = 0.098) and 120 minutes (P = 0.087).
Why it matters
The findings confirm that acute partial sleep restriction impairs whole-body insulin sensitivity in young adults, while suggesting that downstream skeletal muscle PKB signaling changes may not fully explain the rapid metabolic defect.
Limits
The sample size was very small (n = 10) and restricted exclusively to healthy young males, limiting generalizability to females, older populations, and people with metabolic disease. Sleep restriction was implemented in a home setting rather than a strictly controlled sleep laboratory, and the mechanistic muscle signaling results were statistically inconclusive.
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