How Sleep Disruptions Delay Wound Healing in Certain Populations

Type 2 diabetics who are overweight and suffer from rocky sleep patterns need extended time for their wounds to heal, says a new study published in SLEEP.

Researchers from the University of Tennessee Knoxville compared obese mice with Type 2 diabetes characteristics against mice with normal weight. They anesthetized both types of mice and inflicted a small wound on their skin of their backs. The researchers put both diabetic mice and healthy weight mice into two sleep groups: one that was routinely interrupted and another that was allowed to sleep soundly.

The study proved that diabetic mice with disrupted sleep required around 13 days for their wounds to heal half way, whereas normal weight mice that underwent sleep interruptions healed completely within around five days.  

There are over 100 million people in the U.S. with diabetes or prediabetes, and around 9.4 percent of the country’s population has diabetes. There are strong connections between Type 2 diabetes and sleep problems. Not getting enough sleep can spawn metabolic changes for people who have insulin resistance. High glucose levels can result in serious issues for people with Type 2 diabetes, including poor blood circulation, nerve damage, and increasing the body’s likelihood for developing infections.

"This is a public health issue, and we want to contribute to a solution," said study co-author Ralph Lydic, PhD. “Next we want to explore the effect that specific drugs have on wound healing in these same groups of mice with disrupted sleep."