Napping for more than 30 minutes per day significantly increases the risk of developing chronic liver disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
The three main takeaways for RT:
- High risk of MASLDResearch shows that napping for more than 30 minutes per day independently increases the risk of fatty liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction in people with type 2 diabetes.
- Impact of sleep qualityPatients who suffer from poor night sleep and long naps during the day face more than three times the risk of developing chronic liver disease.
- Clinical examination toolSleep habits may serve as a practical indicator of liver disease, allowing health care providers to identify patients at risk through simple behavioral questions.
people with Type 2 diabetes People who sleep longer than 30 minutes each day increase their risk of developing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD), regardless of their sleep patterns at night. According to a study [PDF] Presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.
MASLD, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), occurs when excess fat accumulates in the liver. This chronic disorder can be caused by several conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. The research team sought to determine whether Sleep behavior It could serve as a more effective predictor of MASLD than standard medical tests, potentially allowing doctors to use simple sleep-related questions to identify individuals at high risk.
“Our work suggests that long naps independently increase the risk of MASLD in individuals with type 2 diabetes,” Xuejiang Gu, MD, PhD, executive director of the Department of Endocrinology at The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, said in a press release. “However, poor nighttime sleep combined with long naps triples the risk of MASLD in this population.”
For the study, Gu and his colleagues collected sleep data via questionnaires from 1,900 adults with type 2 diabetes between 2017 and 2024. The participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 85 years, were divided into four categories based on their sleep patterns: good night’s sleep with short naps, good night’s sleep with long naps, poor night’s sleep with short naps, and poor night’s sleep with long naps. The team used multivariable Cox regression analysis to examine the association between these sleep characteristics and the development of MASLD.
During a median follow-up period of just over three years, 379 new cases of MASLD were identified. Compared with the group characterized by good night’s sleep and short naps, participants in the other three groups were associated with a significantly increased risk of developing the liver condition.
Joe pointed out that sleep habits are modifiable daily behaviors that provide individuals with type 2 diabetes with a practical way to prevent the disease.
“Our public health message to them is to nap wisely,” Gu said.
