According to research, insufficient sleep and hormonal imbalance are the major factors behind diabetes in insomniac malesPIC: Men, sound sleep can save you from diabetes

There’s a link between insufficient sleep and the development of insulin resistance, one of the factors that cause type 2 diabetes, and now, a team of researchers has discovered a biological reason for this relationship, at least in men: an imbalance between their testosterone and cortisol hormones.

“Our highly controlled sleep study showed that even one night of restricted sleep can cause insulin resistance and that we can dampen this effect by controlling levels of these two important hormones,” said senior investigator Peter Y. Liu of Los Angeles Biomedical (LA BioMed) Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, Calif.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body does not properly use the hormone insulin. Testosterone is the main anabolic, or musclebuilding, hormone, whereas cortisol—often called the “stress hormone”—helps catabolism, or breaking down energy and fat stores for use, Liu explained. Liu and his fellow researchers conducted five nights of sleep studies in 34 healthy men with an average age of 33.

In another set of experiments, the men received inactive placebos that matched the medications. The morning after the first and last nights of each part of the study, all men took the oral glucose tolerance test, in which they gave blood samples while fasting and again after drinking a sugary drink.

After sleep restriction, this index reportedly showed greater insulin resistance with both the clamp and the placebo. “Maintaining hormonal balance could prevent metabolic ill health occurring in individuals who do not get enough sleep,” he said. “Understanding these hormonal mechanisms could lead to new treatments or strategies to prevent insulin resistance due to insufficient sleep.”