Snoozing your alarm clock can cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes - but only for women, a study has found.
Sleeping for more than seven hours can increase the risk for men because of the effect it has on the body's use of insulin.
Scientists studied a team of 800 middle-aged men and women who wore a device that tracked their sleep and performed tests on how their bodies used the hormone.
When women slept longer than the average of seven hours, their bodies were more efficient at using insulin.
But when men were tested it was found their ability to use insulin had been reduced.
Type 2 diabetes sufferers do not make enough insulin and struggle to use insulin efficiently.
Researcher Dr Femke Rutters of the VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam said: “In men, sleeping too much or too little was related to less responsiveness of the cells in the body to insulin, reducing glucose uptake and thus increasing the risk of developing diabetes.
“In women, no such association was observed. This research shows how important sleep is to a key aspect of help.”
Diabetes costs a tenth of the NHS budget and can lead to disabling and life-threatening complications such as heart attacks and circulatory problems.
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