In a new study released in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers found that sleep duration is associated with insulin sensitivity and beta cell function (glucose tolerance) in healthy men.

While the researchers state the that evidence is circumstantial and that this study did not show cause and effect, recent studies have shown similar decreases. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes. During the last 50 years, the average self-reported sleep duration per person has decreased by 1.5 to 2 hours and the prevalence of diabetes has doubled in the same time period, according the this study's primary author, Femke Rutters, PhD, of The Netherlands. 

The American Diabetes Association estimates that nearly 30 million Americans live with diabetes.

Even more concerning, diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. The condition can be caused by an autoimmune problem, where the body attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin to keep blood sugar levels in check. This is known as type 1 diabetes. Or, the condition can be type 2 diabetes which arises from insulin resistance--where the body doesn’t respond to insulin and blood sugar remains at abnormal levels. Type 2 diabetes is more common and is not an autoimmune disease but rather a “lifestyle disease” once known as adult-onset or noninsulin-dependent diabetes. There is no cure for type 2 diabetes, but it can be managed and prevented.

Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, but recent research has pinpointed another condition that is linked as well: sleep apnea.