Our study revealed that people who get enough sleep have a lower risk of developing NAFLD (Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) than those who get insufficient sleep," wrote Sangheun Lee, MD, PhD, from Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine in Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea.
Previous studies have associated insufficient sleep with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease, as well as liver fibrosis.
A busy weekday schedule can make it harder to get enough sleep, and some people try to compensate by sleeping longer on weekends.
Some studies so far have shown that more sleep on the weekend reduces the risk for obesity and high blood presssure. and others showing no effect on metabolic dysregulation or energy balance.
Why Getting Your Z's May Have Advantages
One explanation for the link between sleep patterns and NAFLD is that the dysregulation of cortisol, inflammatory cytokines are associated with both variations in sleep and NAFLD onset,.
They also point out that a lack of sleep can reduce the secretion of two hormones that promote satiety (feeling full) : leptin and glucagon-like peptide-1. As a result, people who sleep less may eat more and gain weight, which increases the risk for NAFLD.
"I'm going to tell my patients, and tell the community physicians to tell their patients, to follow a good sleep hygiene and make sure that they sleep at least seven hours. Sleep in the afternoon eg 30 minutes will help.
"Annals of Hepatology. Published online February 20, 2022.
