A lack of sleep puts people at risk of diabetes.
A lack of sleep increases the chance of suffering from type 2 diabetes
Research has revealed that people who get less than six hours of shuteye at night had a 16 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life than those who rested for seven or eight hours, regardless of whether they had a healthy diet.
The Swedish researchers tracked almost 250,000 Brits and stressed that the findings should serve as a "reminder that sleep plays an important role in health".
Dr. Diana Noga, a sleep researcher at Uppsala University, said: "Previous research has shown that (insufficient rest on a daily basis) increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, while healthy dietary habits such as regularly eating fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk.
"However, it has remained unclear whether people sleep too little can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by eating healthily."