Sleep Habits and Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Biomarkers of Habitual Short Sleep and Related Cardiometabolic Risk
This project looks for biological signs in adults who regularly sleep too little to understand their risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11092731 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many adults don't get enough sleep, and this can increase their chances of developing type 2 diabetes. While lab studies show that short-term sleep loss can affect how your body uses insulin, we don't fully understand how this works in real-world situations where people consistently sleep less. This project aims to find specific biological markers, like ceramides, that connect habitual short sleep with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. By finding these markers, we hope to learn more about why short sleep increases diabetes risk and whether getting more sleep could help reverse this risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be adults who regularly sleep less than 7 hours per night, including those in demanding professions like medical personnel, military, or shift workers.
Not a fit: Patients who consistently get adequate sleep or those whose diabetes is not linked to sleep duration may not directly benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to identify individuals at higher risk for type 2 diabetes due to sleep habits and inform strategies to prevent the condition by improving sleep.
How similar studies have performed: Preliminary data from this group has identified ceramides as promising biomarkers linking short sleep duration with type 2 diabetes risk.
Where this research is happening
Salt Lake City, United States
- Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah — Salt Lake City, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Depner, Christopher Michael — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Depner, Christopher Michael
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.