Research

Hormonal

Restricting sleep to 5 hours per night for one week significantly reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy men, as measured by both intravenous glucose tolerance tests and euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps.

If you are a healthy adult, restricting your sleep to 5 hours a night for just one week can significantly reduce your body's ability to handle glucose (insulin sensitivity). This happens even if you feel alert (especially if taking stimulants like modafinil). To maintain metabolic health, prioritize getting adequate sleep (7+ hours) rather than sacrificing it for extra waking hours.

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Sleep restriction (5 h/night) for 1 week significantly reduces insulin sensitivity, raising concerns about effects of chronic insufficient sleep on disease processes associated with insulin resistance.
Orfeu M. Buxton et al. · Diabetes · 2010

Why this rating

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design in healthy men with gold-standard metabolic measurements (clamp), though limited to a specific demographic.

Source

Sleep Restriction for 1 Week Reduces Insulin Sensitivity in Healthy Men

Orfeu M. Buxton et al. · Diabetes · 2010

DOI 10.2337/db09-0699

rct · n=20Cited 596×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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